Venting

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I've been on on this forum quite a bit recently. I'm not normally available to write so many posts during the day but it's the last week of school and I've been administering exams. There isn't much to do while the students are taking exams.

Right now I'm a bit annoyed.

I have a special ed student who missed my 2nd period testing due to emotional issues. She took her final exam with her special ed teacher, which was fine with me. I'm not at my personal best when confronted with a crying teen. I don't really know what to say or what to do when kids get really emotional.

My problem is that I've graded and recorded all of the 2nd period test scores. Our grading software has averaged their quarterly grades, posted them to a page with their 3rd quarter grades and the score they made on their end of year exam. The page also posted their average for the semester.

All of my 2nd period grades are done ... except for this one student.

Since we have the afternoon off (to grade and record exams), I went down to the other teacher's room only to find that it was shut and locked.

I checked my faculty mailbox to see if the test had been returned. My mailbox was empty.

When I saw this woman's husband (who also teaches at this school), I asked if he knew where his wife was. He told her that she was having a parent meeting in our school's conference room. I went to the conference room to find this teacher waiting for the parents.

"Do you have ----'s test?" I asked.

The woman blinked. "Oh, did you want it?"

Did I want it? DID I WANT IT? Didn't this woman understand that this was a final exam? Didn't she understand that I couldn't close out my 2nd period grade book until I graded this exam and recorded the grades on-line! OF COURSE I WANTED IT!

"It's on my desk," she said. I turned to leave. "But you can't get it because the door is locked."

"I will give it to you after the parent conference."

That was over an hour ago. I'd really like to close out my 2nd period grade book.

Since I tend to be project oriented, it's really frustrating not to be able to close out this grade book. This feels like an itch that I just can't scratch.

Although there are other things I could be doing such as cleaning the kitchen and prepping it to be shut down over the summer, all of these activities feel "wrong" because I haven't been able to finish closing out my 2nd period grade book.

I don't know why I'm so fixated on this. I've taught for 29 years and I've never had this experience. I'm also capable of multi-tasking and have previously had to step away from a project in order to work on other tasks.

I'm now worried that this woman will either forget to give me the student's answer sheet or she will postpone giving me this paperwork for any number of reasons ... she had to use the restroom ... and then she had to eat lunch ... and then someone popped by to chat with her ... (ARGGGHHH!)

I'm really frustrated.

I finished folding the last of the sanitizer rags that I washed and dried before school.

I went through the hair net storage drawers and threw away all of the student hairnets while keeping the plastic zip lock bag that each hair restraint had been in. The plastic bags were put in recycling.

I policed each station and found a half dozen pieces of silverware that I washed prior to being air dried.

I then checked on the aforementioned teacher to see if she was still in her meeting. The meeting was over but the woman's classroom door is still locked. My faculty mailbox is still empty. This woman had promised to give me the student's answer sheet after the meeting but she didn't.

I hate it when others don't follow through with their promises. This is yet another reason why I've avoided making any friends over the past several years. People can be horribly unreliable.

(sigh)

Yes I've noticed people never do what they say they're gonna do. There is a huge rat running rampant in our building and the landlord told us he was going to set traps. Never happened. My dad had to come in and set a trap but it isn't working because he just licks the peanut butter off and escapes. I was told to call the health department but I dont want to get the landlord in trouble as he fixes most other problems.

It drives me nuts when I can't finish something when I have to.

The teacher finally gave me the student's test. She didn't explain why it took her nearly an hour after her meeting had ended to do this. She clearly did not follow through with her stated, "I'll give this to you right after the meeting."

The meeting ended an hour ago. (Grumble)

On the brighter side with an 87% average, this student had the top performing grade for 2nd period. This really helped her GPA because she's recently missed a lot of school and did not do any makeup. (The student is homeless and has been living in a van.)

Her semester GPA came in at a 59.87% GPA. I rounded this to a 60% and gave her a D-, so she passed.

Hurrah!

I was also tremendously relieved that I could finally close out my grade book for 1st and 2nd periods.

I'm thinking maybe you need to practice breath-control meditation. I can imagine being perturbed at the situation, but you let yourself get very anxious and angry, when in truth it wasn't a life-or-death situation that merited such high emotion.

It's not this teen's fault she is homeless, and you've done her a kindness in allowing a reasonable accommodation (as well as obeyed the law).

What are your plans for summer break? Are you teaching this summer?

I'm glad you have compassion for this girl who lives in a van and is homeless.

What is her overall GPA? Does she want to go to college?

Well, THIS was different - I just received this PM:
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Kraftiekortie,

I'm leaving the forum.

BeaArthur is way too opinionated. She told me it's emotionally unhealthy to be a reclusive introvert. i did not solicit this opinion.This is what led to my post about whether or not I need any friends.

In my venting post, instead of accepting my feelings, she said I was making a big to do about nothing.

Although she is entitled to her opinion, I don't appreciate people who won't accept me for the person I am. My reaction may have been out of the ordinary, but that is how I felt and I WAS venting.

BeaArthur also doesn't like my italics which she characterized as "distracting." My solution (in part) is to leave the forum. I do have an explanation as to why I use italics but since I am leaving, I see no reason to explain.

BeaArthur's attitude reminds me of my mother Mother was pushy and opinionated. she was also physically and emotionally abusive. This is one reason I'm not marrIed. Pushy women scare the heck out of me.

A woman in another thread also berated me and presumed to lecture me. She had solicited advice because her boy friend had physically assaulted her but she said she still loved him. She said in her OP that she didn't want to be told that she needs to leave him and I certainly did not tell her to do that even though I did not agree.

I simply observed that he assaulted her and that his actions were unlawful.

She had a hissy fit and unloaded on me. Who needs the grief.

So now you know my Achilles heel. I cannot abide rudeness or unsolicited opinions that feel like personal attacks.

So I'm out of here.

kraftiekortie, I have enjoyed your posts.

I will not miss BeaArthur. I am ccing her with the hope that she will learn from this and realize that while her opinions may seem constructive to her, some of them have come across as caustic.

Goodbye.

David
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Love how he uses another user to give me his indirect message. It's AWFULLY BIG of Dave to hope that I will learn from this.

This talk of hissy fits reminds me of an insecure young man I once dated, ONE TIME, in college. I found him attractive and took the initiative in making out with him. But he called me up for a second date and wanted to go out for ice cream, on a specific night when I had a big exam to study for, and I said no, and told him why. I got an incredibly angry letter a couple days later, stating that it wasn't very sexy to "hide the goods under baggy clothing" .... LMAO. I never heard from him again, nor did I try to find him to clear the air - figured I had dodged a bullet with that one. Now that I know about autism, I'm pretty sure he was on the spectrum.

I was not trying to build a relationship with Dave, but this angry screed, which he was too cowardly to address to me directly but instead addressed to another user, then posted it in a PM to me, was just too funny. I know Kraftiekortie knows me well and I highly doubt he agrees I'm a pushy woman. (And if he does, he probably likes me for it!)

And yes, I'm the reason Dave never married.

You did nothing wrong BA!

(Although maybe you are also BA for Bad Attitude! (JK ))

I think you were rather acerbic, Bea. But I don't find you did anything wrong. That's just your personality.

The key to the education of an Aspie/Autistic----is that they have to be able to adapt to different personalities.

And learn how to be able to go tit-for-tat with a person---but always with basic respect for a person's dignity.

I had to learn that over many years of hard learning.

I hope Dave doesn't leave on account of this. I would like him to come back, and to continue to dispense good advice.

I've been the recipient of people who were acerbic to me. I cowered in fear for a moment. Yes, I did. Then I put myself together, and joined the battle.

That's how life is. You can't permanently cower in fear. You have to join the battle.

I cowered in fear for the first 18 years of my life, basically.

Only 18? Wow, that's doing pretty good!

I was actually enjoying discussions with Dave, but I doubt I would want to converse with him after this. He basically tried to undermine me in an underhanded way. There are people at WP I just don't mess with.