I quit

I have decided to quit blogging for now. I may come back to it in the future when I feel that I have something more important to say. But for now, I think I am all dried out.

Thinking

They buried on of our honors students yesterday. She died in a car accident on Friday in a storm. A tree fell in the road in front of her mother's car and she died in the crash. No one else in the car was hurt.
It makes me think. She was an honors student, a ballet dancer, flute player in the Eastern District Honor's band, head of our Academic Challenge team (which is 2nd in the state), a junior scholar, a member of the national junior honors society, a member of her church's youth choir, and an all around good person. She was one the kids who gives me hope for the future, and now that is gone. I am so frightened of what our world will be like in 20 years because of a severe lack of people like her.

Only 2 weeks 4 days and 5 hours left to go

I do believe that our school has nearly reached critical mass on middle schoolers who think that summer vacation has already begun and we're on the verge of a nuclear reaction that some of us are never going to forget.

Let's see we have a lame duck principal who is being demoted to assistant principal at an entirely different school (with many less "problems"). We have a lame duck assistant principal who will not be returning as any kind of administrator. We have another assistant who will be back (but only because he felt like staying). The principal is actually abdiacting the throne.

The kids know all this. They've really known it all year. Because they started out the year with "The principal is not a real principal, right?" And my all time favorite "I like in school suspension, it's fun! Can I go back?" Or "I'll slap that principal/teacher/nurse/guidance counselor if they get in my face again."

I actually had four kids refuse to work yesterday because they said they should get a break before PACT starts next week and not have to do anything for a couple of days. (I thought that was the purpose of the weekend.)

On top of that 4 or 5 of them have court dates coming up next week (mostly for being incorrigable). And then there are the two of my students who were arrested for rape about a month ago. Now since it was part of a gang intiation for the girl, they think they should get off for it. (But the admin says there are only about 20 students in our school in a gang out of 900, well I guess 6 of them are in my class, because they have been caught and admitted to it. Not to mention that 10 of my books are so full of gang signs that you can barely read the cover page.)

I have also been yelled at by no less than 6 students this week because I put them in time out, my new invention for our class. Yes, I know it is middle school, but they're only 7th graders for screaming out loud. Yes, I know most of my 7th graders are actually 14, but who really cares. (Actally 2 of them are getting a car over the summer and will be driving themselves to 8th grade.) They act plenty immature enough to have time out. (Heck if it works for my 2 year old, maybe it will work for them!)

And OH THE JOY, THE UNSPEAKABLE RAPTURE of PACT tests. I can't wait to stand in front of a room of 18 students for 3-4 hours administering a test where I can't sit for too long, can't read anything, can't grade papers, can't write anything, can't use my computer, or anything remotely entertaining.

I guess I just have summeritis too. Which makes no sense, because I'll be teaching summer school, just a glutton for punishment I guess (or trying to save the money for a down payment on a house, whatever.)