I'm such a softie!

Four more days of school this year and 3 of them are half days!  Whoo, whoo!  This class hasn't been as rough as last year's, but I DO have challenges:  7 of them!  At least two are drug babies.  Two boys cannot control their behavior AT ALL and the rest are so hyperactive that they CANNOT sit still, they CANNOT focus, they CANNOT complete their work.  I sat with one boy yesterday and honestly, he couldn't focus more than 30 seconds on ANYTHING!!!!!!  I do have some outstanding students, however, and that makes it more puzzling.  WHY are so many kids dysfunctional?  I know for sure, as I stated above, that two kids are drug babies (meth...)  They are the ones with the worst behavior.  They have NO filter.  They just say or do whatever comes into their minds at the moment...sigh...

I've often wondered if their parents' work in the fields has caused some of their problems.  Pesticides are on the parents and they bring them home on their shoes and clothes.  And, we're talking about some heavy duty stuff.  I can only imagine what pesticides would do to young, developing brains.

So, it has been another ROUGH year.  One girl steals things from me and other students. A boy drops the "F" bomb constantly.  Another one told a girl, "I'm going to kill you!"  OUCH!  Another girl tried to strangle another one at recess.  Then I have the ongoing DRAMA of a girl who left my class because she was so jealous of one of my students, it drove her crazy!  She has glared at me now every time she sees me and my class.  The list could go on and on and on...

But, yesterday I got this note.  I'm typing it exactly as it was written:

"Dear Mrs. XXXX,  I wish you a happy summer and to go on teacheing more students.  Also you changed my life with all you teached me and even thou I am new I think you steel tought me a lot of things I did not know.  Thank you for evreything."

I cried.  Right in front of the student who gave me the note and two others.  I couldn't help myself. :-)