It's Like Being Struck by Lightning Twice
Hey, 'member how I was saying in my last post that I wasn't sure the kids were completely prepared for the event Monday night? O.K., so it turns out that both teams managed to do very well in answering the questions.
Their behavior, however, was another story.
They were acting up from the minute school let out on Monday, and were just goofy and hyper. I thought maybe it was being anxious about the event, or the upcoming school musical (I can't even talk about that right now). And then for two-thirds of the night--when we were out in public--they were still goofy. And obnoxious. But by the end of the night, they pulled themselves together (I guess missing all those answers in one round stopped being funny) for success. I was really proud of them.
Until I got in the next morning, and the music teacher, who is directing the musical, came in and yelled at us (meaning all of us who work in the library) because the storage room in the gym, which doubles as a staging area for the musical, was left in complete shambles by the kids in my care. I honestly had no idea they were ripping the room to shreds when they went to retrieve some balls or whatever to blow off some steam; I had no idea they had not bothered to put anything back in its proper place while I was setting up their dinner.
Already I was sick when I heard that, but an even worse feeling came over me when I found out the music teacher first blamed the art teacher and made the art teacher and the stage crew clean up my students' mess. And then by noon, a scorching e-mail from one of the gym teachers came our way. I was mortified. Angry. Disappointed. Because these were the older kids, and I mistakenly had faith in them that they would be responsible. And because the parents I thought were coming to help me out with supervision, weren't able to make it until dinner or were meeting us at the venue. I went to set up the dinner and our aide did the best she could to supervise, but we just had no idea what they'd done.
I spent the day apologizing yesterday, and the art teacher and I spoke to the kids today--and of course some of them were upset they were in trouble and swearing they weren't the ones involved--and we decided that all of them should make some sort of restitution. It's not going to be physically punishing or anything, probably setting up chairs or whatever, but they really disrespected the music teacher and all the hard work everyone's done for the musical, and I don't think "sorry" is going to mean anything. In fact, I did not hear a single one apologize. I don't understand what these kids were thinking, except maybe, "It doesn't matter what we do. Someone else will clean this up."
So I'm tired, at the last minute I was told I have to be at the musical tomorrow night to help keep kids in line (and I have been out every night this week, last night for choir and tonight for The Cat's vet visit), and I'm trying to get things together for the other reading event coming up right after Easter--oh, and do the day-to-day teacher-librarian stuff, of course, and I am feeling really overwhelmed.
And after only a handful of months, a federal court jury summons was in my mailbox again today.
WHY???
Their behavior, however, was another story.
They were acting up from the minute school let out on Monday, and were just goofy and hyper. I thought maybe it was being anxious about the event, or the upcoming school musical (I can't even talk about that right now). And then for two-thirds of the night--when we were out in public--they were still goofy. And obnoxious. But by the end of the night, they pulled themselves together (I guess missing all those answers in one round stopped being funny) for success. I was really proud of them.
Until I got in the next morning, and the music teacher, who is directing the musical, came in and yelled at us (meaning all of us who work in the library) because the storage room in the gym, which doubles as a staging area for the musical, was left in complete shambles by the kids in my care. I honestly had no idea they were ripping the room to shreds when they went to retrieve some balls or whatever to blow off some steam; I had no idea they had not bothered to put anything back in its proper place while I was setting up their dinner.
Already I was sick when I heard that, but an even worse feeling came over me when I found out the music teacher first blamed the art teacher and made the art teacher and the stage crew clean up my students' mess. And then by noon, a scorching e-mail from one of the gym teachers came our way. I was mortified. Angry. Disappointed. Because these were the older kids, and I mistakenly had faith in them that they would be responsible. And because the parents I thought were coming to help me out with supervision, weren't able to make it until dinner or were meeting us at the venue. I went to set up the dinner and our aide did the best she could to supervise, but we just had no idea what they'd done.
I spent the day apologizing yesterday, and the art teacher and I spoke to the kids today--and of course some of them were upset they were in trouble and swearing they weren't the ones involved--and we decided that all of them should make some sort of restitution. It's not going to be physically punishing or anything, probably setting up chairs or whatever, but they really disrespected the music teacher and all the hard work everyone's done for the musical, and I don't think "sorry" is going to mean anything. In fact, I did not hear a single one apologize. I don't understand what these kids were thinking, except maybe, "It doesn't matter what we do. Someone else will clean this up."
So I'm tired, at the last minute I was told I have to be at the musical tomorrow night to help keep kids in line (and I have been out every night this week, last night for choir and tonight for The Cat's vet visit), and I'm trying to get things together for the other reading event coming up right after Easter--oh, and do the day-to-day teacher-librarian stuff, of course, and I am feeling really overwhelmed.
And after only a handful of months, a federal court jury summons was in my mailbox again today.
WHY???
Comments
After I served on a jury at 18, I got summoned exactly 3 years later (while at college, different county), then shortly thereafter I got summoned at home again. When it came in the mail, my parents made sure they were there when I saw it, so they could laugh at my horror! I didn't have to serve, but just being called again was such a shock.