PTSD?

Thank you, Al, and others, for your kind words from my post about teaching.

One reader over at Al's blog:  http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2014/07/wednesday.html
mentioned that teachers suffer from PTSD.  You know, I'd never considered that, but I think what he said is true.  By the way, two teachers left my school last year due to stress.  One of my colleagues got to the point where she was taking one day off...A WEEK!  She could handle her class of miscreants 4 days, but not 5!

Last year was my hardest year, in the 28 years I've taught.  I had 30 students.  10 of them were REAL behavior problems.  That's 1/3 of the class.  Not just a couple.  TEN!!!  This was the most unmotivated, unconcerned, uncaring group of kids EVER.  They couldn't sit still.  Read a book?  FORGETABOUTIT!  They couldn't pay attention.  "Huh?  What page are we on?  What?  Our math book?"  They couldn't retain information.  I looked into the effects of pesticides and pretty much decided that their brains were fried from pesticide exposure.  Many have parents who work in the fields, harvesting our watermelons, grapes, and other crops that are grown in our valley during the year.  Let's face it...the parents get exposed to the stuff in the fields, it gets on their clothing and hair and shoes, they track it into their homes, the babies and kids are exposed to it, and yes, it is IN their bodies and nervous system.  Maybe that's why they couldn't sit still or focus or pay attention?

Maybe...but the previous year's class COULD sit still, COULD focus, and COULD pay attention, so maybe that theory doesn't work?

A couple of coworkers said, "Bad drugs".  That could be.  I have no idea.  Whatever it was, they nearly did me in.

I used all 10 of my sick leave days, plus about 6 more.  I got docked for the 6 days and didn't even care.  I got excused for 2 days of jury duty and I went skipping outta there.  :-)  Oh, and I was out 6 days due to being tripped by one of my students while they were  out at PE playing soccer.  I ended up on the ground with a concussion.

So, the last day of school, one girl announced that her mother was bringing pizza.  Well, it was a minimum day (1/2 day).  I was anxiously waiting for her to show up as we were cleaning up the room after our chips, cookies, and drinks.  Chairs were stacked.  Desks were cleaned.  The bell rang.  The mother shows up at the door with the pizzas as the kids are RUNNING out of the room!  Most ran back, grabbed a slice, and ran out again.  I never did get to say goodbye to them!  Oh, well...

Back to PTSD...I think that is what I had last year.  I had constant stomach aches.  I was constantly dizzy.  Some mornings I would DREAD getting out of bed.  I would hide under the covers.  I developed an eyebrow that twitched.  I would come home at 4 p.m. and sleep for 2 hours, eat dinner, and go to bed at 7 p.m.  Really, I think the ONLY thing that kept me from going INSANE was the support of my colleagues.  I didn't finally relax until we took one trip to Lake Tahoe and the Sierras and another trip to San Diego.  After the Fourth of July, the eye twitch went away, but now the nightmares have begun.

Yes, teaching today is VERY different than the era that we all went through.  Since my mother was a teacher, she knew most of my principals.  (She, however, taught in downtown Los Angeles.  I went to school in the suburbs.)  If I had misbehaved (and I did once...I was caught swinging from the bars on one of the bathroom stalls in 5th grade...) I was severely dealt with.  That usually involved either a slap on the face or a slap on the butt.  And, those weren't lukewarm slaps.  I misbehaved...a total of ONE TIME.  That was it.  Kids today?  They get away with nearly everything.  And, if a parent calls and complains about a teacher, admin USUALLY backs the parents...don't want "upset" parents, right?  So, we ARE fairly limited as to what we can do to the young upstarts.  And, they know it.  They talk back to us  (a "non-suspendable" behavior).  Defiance?  FORGETABOUTIT....not suspendable.  I DID have one young upstart suspended two years ago when he screamed, "Let's KILL Mrs. Dean!"  (a threat to my life...)  He was suspended for a day.  And, no, he wasn't kidding.  He HATED me because I made him do his work (or tried to...)  This year one of my boys was suspended for a day (again) because he scratched two girls on their arms and then said, "If you tell, I'm going to lie about it!"  They told me, I sent them to the office with the evidence on their arms and also wrote down what he'd said.  He was gone for a day, back the next day.


Let's face it...I'm 62 years old now.  My mom retired when she was 62.  I really need to endure this until I turn 65, then I'm DONE.  Three more LONG years...sigh...until they either beat me or I outlast them.