Four kids melting down, breaking up at least seven fist fights, and one student saying "I hate myself" later, I had finished my first day of service. My teammate and I had been assigned to, arguably, the most feared classroom in the school. While I thought I was prepared, and laughed when the senior corps members reenacted situations that could occur in our classrooms, assuming they would only happen on occasion, I had no idea. My goal that day was to put my foot down and establish control- "you can make a difference, right?" I said to myself, "The teacher just didn’t know what he was doing". Ha.
My prejudices and assumptions were far from true. By now I have come to learn that most days are better than the last and that coming in with a mean face and an attitude is far from helpful. A careful combination of respect, love, and firmness keeps our classroom teetering between calm and complete chaos. I love my kids every day, however most days I don’t like them. Some days we might get through to someone, and almost never does a day go by without at least one hug from my students.
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