Nicole feels

At the end of the school day yesterday, I was asking myself, "Why did I tell them I could do this till the end of the year?"

I have five classes each day. The first two are 7th graders. Then we get a 20 minute break. Next, the "babies" (6th graders) stroll in for one class and then it's lunch time. After lunch, the second group of babies. Then I have a planning time that is about 75 minutes long (woohoo).

Then they arrive.

The eighth graders. I think that over the summer between the seventh and eighth grades, these children are given lobotomies.

For this group, PE is an elective. So, it is a smaller group, but unfortunately it tends to be all the kids no one else wants (i.e., they've been kicked out of every other elective class).

And yesterday they plucked every last nerve I had. I marched them all up to the matt room by the PE offices and told them to sit, without saying a word. Anyone who spoke, I would write up.

I wrote up 5 kids. Oh, make that 6 when including the one who skipped class.

Ummmm, yeah.

One girl I wrote up the day before too. Today I just sent her out before the class even began.

So, anyway, my blood pressure was through the roof by the time that bell was complete. They were just plain rude and disobedient and in a word: buttheads.

I'd been told they were an "awful bunch", but you know, you don't want to really believe it.

So, going in, I was a bit apprehensive today. Not because of fear - even though most of the guys in the class are much bigger than me - but because I just didn't want to deal with their crap again. I found myself praying all morning as I got ready, ate breakfast, drove to the school.

I went into the gym that bell determined to have a better day.

In a few short minutes, I was asking myself, "who are you, and what did you do with the buttheads?"

Ahhhhh. Maybe there's hope for this crew after all.

They pushed. I pushed back. And today all was well in middle school world again.

"You are a PE teacher now, girl!", another teacher proclaimed.

And so I got the news that I am on for sure for the rest of the year this afternoon as I signed out.

It's a good thing I got that news this afternoon, eh?