Countdown ON

I'm down to counting the hours. Currently, there are 49 hours left in the school year.

My friend, in his infinite generosity, decided to lend me his spare flat screen TV to take to school. This combined with the extra DVD player I have under my bed means that all my problems at school are solved. I have about ten hours worth of history films at school, and the Back to the Future trilogy that I also borrowed from my friend. The children will be quiet at last!

All I think about all the time is getting out of here. I have three months left on my lease, and to be honest I still haven't decided what I'll do once it's up. I really need to stay here until the end of October, because I'm in my friend's wedding. Still need to buy that dress, too.

It's really interesting how I keep meeting people who are opening my eyes to all that's out there to see. Until about five years ago, I never thought about traveling outside of North America and Europe. Small-minded, sure, but when you grow up in a small town in Texas, you just don't really think you'll ever get that far away. It doesn't help, either, to be raised in a family that just doesn't travel much. I come from a Texas ranching family that's been here for a long time. Work is valued above everything else, and travel is a luxury that my family just doesn't think about. That all changed a few years ago though, when my mom and step dad got married. He has really taught us how to travel and made us want to see more of the world. 

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I really can't believe my teaching career is almost over. Ninety percent of the people that I know today I either met through my job or only know me as a teacher. I've never really thought of myself as a teacher, and knew it wouldn't be a career for me, so it's strange to think of people seeing me that way. This website has been mainly about my teaching job for the last three years. I kept trying to write about something else, but when the problems as big as those in an inner city school occupy your mind, there's not room for much else. Besides, I certainly needed to get all of that out.

Honestly much of this year I haven't wanted to document. Some highlights:

1) Having a conversation with four 12 and 13-year-old girls that began with, "Miss, you know how there's two different kinds of head on a boy?"

2) Being yelled at and cursed in three languages by teenagers.

3) Knowing that you're being looked at in a nasty way by students...they're way obvious about it and it's so gross.

4) Finding one of your books with such vulgarity about yourself written on it that you don't care to post the details on your website.

5) Catching six boys throwing rocks at your car, and trying to break into it so they can steal/destroy the soccer ball hanging from your rear view mirror, because they don't like that team.

6) Having a student go to jail for throwing a skateboard through a windshield, and having this same student make jokes about how you're going to get a broken window in your car...

7) Um...yeah...every day was awful times a thousand and all the highlights are the same. There were a few sweet kids who made it almost tolerable. I'll never forget the amazing group of kids who would help me out even when everyone else was being awful to me.

It's not just me either...everyone else from my grade level has quit as well...the administration drove us all away with their lack of support and disregard for the problems that come with teaching this age group.

But hey, it's almost over, right? Then it's off to play at the beach in the Bahamas, then back here to figure out the next couple of years.