A year of teaching in review: Isa's Top 5 worst moments

Number 5:
My grade 11 french group! When I first got wind of teaching this group for the 3rd year, I was elated, I was overjoyed, I was giddy with trepidation. This was going to be THE group with whom I was going to accomplish fun, exciting and memorable projects and activities. And just like an ice sculpture at a cooking competition, my dreams of academic bliss came to a very disastrous crashing mess, that left me angry, disappointed and finally indifferent to whether these kids passed or failed, a feeling that I loath since, ethically (at least in my mind), a teacher shouldn't ever be tepid about his or her students' success or hardships. I will miss the students individually, but I will not miss the conflicts and tensions that I have encountered within the group.

Number 4:
Public humilation by a collegue! She-who-will-not-be-named blasted me in front of students. Although we still communicate politely, I despise her actions. Please, let's show students that we have no qualms about shoutting to our colleagues and reducing them to nothing. Please, let's show them that, we as teachers, are exempt from proper behavior and civility. Please, let's show them that we tell them to do means absolutely nothing, because we can yell and bitch to others whenever we feel like it. And that same teacher complains about how unruly our students are...

Number 3:
The heat! Old school + high heat and humidity X no AC = Hell. I think Lucifer is looking to buy some property here...

Number 2:
Graffitti! Badly drawn penises on school walls is less than artistic. Somewhat humorous maybe, but hardly artisitic... I'm not doing the whole "Gasp! That's pronography! That's indecent!" crap. It's just ugly. And when these anatomically incorrect members get drawn on my classroom door with the words "penis club" above them, I draw a frickin' huge line in the sand.

Number 1:
Teacher's strike! I found out this year that I am not as militant as I though I was. I believe in the cause and I want to fight for those getting royally shafted in our profession. Yet, I reserve some sort of conciliatory attitude (for lack of a better word) in such troubled times. For one, I am not willing to sacrifice over 1000$ of my pay to strike for 5 days. Some say it is a price to pay for getting what we want as teachers, but I am not ready to follow that route. This conflict that has plagued us for almost a year has not stopped escalating and has made me very aware of how I voice my opinions and how others perceive them. I see teachers using the pressure tactics as an excuse to justify their anger and discontent towards this school's administration. These teachers are bitter and fickle and are quick to point out all the flaws and problems in our school. I am tired of this. Can't we just get this settled and return to our normal daily craziness?