Friday, September 24, 2010

Arms and Legs

I'm in my 13th year of teaching. I like to think I'm not superstitious, but I am getting worried.

Yesterday one of my darling little girls fell off the monkey bars. It's been an almost everyday experience for at least one of my kiddos this year. But yesterday was different. She came over, clearly upset, and I sent her with a buddy to get some water. (The clinic was not open because our clinic aide was out.)

A few minutes later our fabulous principal came out to say they were calling the parents because they thought her arm was broken.

It was. She had surgery for an hour yesterday. She was home on painkillers today. It's not clear when she'll be able to return to school.

This morning another little darling and I had quite a bit of trouble together. She was disrespectful and defiant. I did not always respond well. But even when I did it didn't help.

It finally ended when she kicked me. Nothing major, just a lashing out physically. It didn't hurt me but it crossed a line we couldn't ignore.

So, either this year might be cursed or today was just a big teaching fail.

3 comments:

Launa Hall said...

I'm so sorry. Tomorrow is another day.

Kids, Canines, and Chaos said...

I'd be willing to bet it was just a fluke. One kid falls every day at recess. At some point, we're all bound to have a broken bone. Bummer that it happened on your watch.

Keep your head up! It's going to be a good school year!

lmwm said...

I'm here to tell you it will be OK! (No 13th year bad karma!) Through these many years my students and I have lived through both those kinds of incidents and oh so many more--, and while I know it's upsetting and exhausting because none of us want to see our kids hurt or hurting, in the big picture, it will be all right. They have an amazing teacher who cares about them and how to create the learning environment they need. Tomorrow is indeed another day!