Why is this so_________up (fill in word of your choice)?

…fill in the blank with an expletive of your choice.

I am SO DONE with where I work. So.Done.

This diary is my place to vent. My place to rant. My place to let the pressure out so I do not explode. At the end of this school year I am going to have ulcers, grey hair or both.

I started at an urban charter school teaching middle school history (since my job at my previous district was eliminated due to budget) ONLY BECAUSE OF DS, a principal who is well known for his ethics, kindness, and respect for teachers. He recruited me actually.

3 months in..just 3 months and he quits. No warning. No “hey, just wanted to let you know..,” just an abrupt leaving and bringing in a new principal. He did eventually meet with me (and others) and explained how this place (the school) was killing him inside, how the chaos and poor leadership, the broken promises from the charter company, etc. were too much and he had to leave.

Well, duh. We all felt that too. We all wanted to leave. Some of us have bills though. And we can’t. So, he just leaves us to pick up the pieces.

The new admin is so horrible that even the lunch ladies see it and can’t stand it. Some examples:

1. They come in late almost every day. Some is legit, like their kids school had a delay or they had to drop off their kids. But when we, the teachers, have a similar issue like our kids schools have a delay or we have to take them to a doctor and ask if we can come in a bit later..we are told, with an attitude: “Come in on time or not all.”
2. We had a power outage at the school which resulted in no heat or lights for hours. In 17 degree weather. Kids were freezing. No plans were given as to what to do except “stay in your rooms.” When we asked if we could make another plan, such as all getting together in the gym for warmth in numbers, the principal snapped: “You want a plan? Here’s your plan. Go to your room and teach. There’s your plan.”
3. Our state had a state of emergency after a storm and wires were down on my street. The police blocked my street due to downed wires and we were not allowed to leave. I could not come in. I was docked a day’s pay since I had to take a sick day…when I wasn’t sick.
4. The principal and vice-principal have NEVER had classroom experience. Have only been admin. They can NOT control the kids. We have three to four students (out of 55 in the 6th grade) who are very difficult. The admins admitted they can not control them, that they are “bad,” that they can’t handle them on their own. BUT, when these SAME KIDS are disrupting our class in major ways (like throwing things at each other, fighting, cursing, walking ON desks, singing loudly, yelling) we are told its our fault and we “better get it together” and learn to manage our classes. So, when they can not control these behaviors, its not their fault…but when we can’t…its ours. OK.
5. Since its a charter school, the hours are insane and the things they ask us to do are way beyond fair and would never fly in a school with a union. For example, there was a “surprise” meeting I had to attend after school yesterday that I WAS NOT TOLD ABOUT UNTIL FIVE MINUTES BEFORE SCHOOL ENDED, when I couldn’t attend because I had to pick up my daughter from Pre-K and had no notice about the meeting, I was told I was “not a team player.”
6. We were told to create “flexible seating” in our classrooms using bean bags, etc. However, our classrooms are tiny and there is literally no room to do this. When we mentioned this, we were yelled at for “always being being so negative.”
7. The English teacher on my 6th grade team is a two faced person. To your face she is all sweet but is constantly insulting you in passive-aggressive ways in front of others to gain points with admin. She will throw you under the bus in a hot minute to save herself. I can not tell you how many times she has slapped me in the face, figuratively. She even said, in front of admin one day, “I work harder than you.” I can not trust her.
8. The science teacher on my team does what he wants and flat our refuses to comply with team decisions.
9. I am the middle school dean of academics and run a team meeting once a week. Through the entire team meeting, the teachers (mentioned above) talk over me, around me, ignore me and snap at me when I try to run the meeting.
10. Some of the students are downright hostile and impossible: yelling, cursing, leaving the room, pushing you (the teacher)! The behaviors I expected, given the area; but what is so stressful is that admin will not do anything. We were told over the summer that this school is serious and will not put up with this behavior and kids would be expelled. Well, ha. Because its tolerated every day. Kids are allowed to do anything and everything and admin NEVER GIVES A CONSEQUENCE. The kids know it and so, continue.
11. We had a student cut her arms, you read that right, cut her arms in the bathroom. She was simply sent back to class with bandaids despite that, by law, we were supposed to call EMT’s and report this.
12. We have special ed students not getting services legally mandated by IEP’s. We have admin who show up late, leaving us in the building with students and no admin-also against the law.

Every single teacher here, without exception, wants to quit and is looking.

Sunday nights are very depressing. I cry on the way to work some days.

Spring break can not come soon enough.