End of the year

This is the time of the year that is a double edged sword for me. I love it and I hate it. Yes, I really do have a love/hate relationship with the month of May (especially the last two weeks of it).

Love:
That the flowers are blooming and things are starting to look pretty.

Hate:
That it makes me and half my students sneeze. I think I go through double the amount of tissue boxes during April and May than I do during the winter months.

Love:
Sunshine and not having to rely on the florescent lighting in my classroom by letting the sun through the high windows I've got.

Hate:
That is makes it impossible for my screen to be seen or my projector to be seen easily by the students unless I close the blinds---and that is not an easy feat.

Love:
That my time with the little "darlings" is coming to a close!

Hate:
That they start acting worse now than they ever did.

Love:
That the the school year is closing off.

Hate:
That the students believe it is free time whether or not they have assignments done.

Love:
16 more school days and I'm off for a while.

Hate:
That the students believe that the last few days of school are just play time and I'm relegated to babysitting duty.

Love:
This year I didn't have to give up my lab for testing. They found a way around the schedule so I get my lab, meaning I can actually accomplish everything I have to and not feel like I'm scrambling at the end.

Hate:
That for many students, their testing is over and they have the mentality "Oh, testing is done. No more learning for me then." and believe that goofing off is the best way to use their time.

I think this year has been one of the toughest that I've had yet. The caliber of students has dropped significantly. They don't want to do anything and I really don't want to be here either. I get that, we're both in the same boat. But I've still got 16 days with these "darlings" and believe me, I am trying to make it all work.

Today I gave the ultimatum that if they didn't shape up and start acting respectfully then they would suffer the consequences. . . . and one class decided to put that into play today. Those that didn't pay attention or were goofing off/being disrespectful had to clean. And I mean clean by themselves. There is glitter on the counter from a project: each piece needed to be picked up and they couldn't use a wet paper towel to accomplish it. And we're talking about the small glitter.

I'm also done with late work and those students who are waiting until the end to try and get their work done. I've put a sign on my door that states that the students have until this friday to turn in anything that is late and no late work will be accepted on assignments from next week on. I wish I would have taken a picture of one class' faces. They looked like I had told them that they needed to drown puppies or something. They looked horrified!

Also, the slippage of grades drives me nuts! And the parents behind those students are even worse. They continually ask what their student can do to "get better", but when I tell them that they need to do the work in class, they get all huffy and say that I am trying to sabotage their student and their grade. Blah, blah, blah. I think I've just tuned it all out recently.

I'm getting ready to be done. I need these next few months off and I need them as quick as they'll get here. I'm not even sure if I'm willing to come back next year. I'm going to spend part of the summer looking for something else. I deserve to be treated better than I have been