Stressors

This year has been remarkably smooth for me up to this point. I don't know if it's because I totally revamped my lesson plans when it comes to scaffolding skills, or if I just have a great bunch of kids (totally do, by the way) but it has been very smooth, and I am very grateful for that.

However.

I have a freshman advisory class that meets twice a week and things are not going so smoothly there. My advisory class is my largest class, with 30 kids, and has 6 extremely.....rambunctious....boys in it that are rude, disrespectful, and extremely immature. I  have separated them, talked to them, been kind, been strict, been snarky, been direct, and they are just acting like tools. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that the lesson plans that have been designed for the freshmen are too easy and too slow, in my opinion. As a result, we end up with extra days where I don't have anything for them to do, and they don't handle free time well at all. They get obnoxious, I get frustrated, and we all end class upset. I feel like I am failing the kids that actually care about their school work and try to work when I give them time to do so, and I am failing to reach the kids who are goofing off. This class is supposed to help them graduate prepared to pay bills, find a job, fill out a college application, and essentially function as an semi-adult, and so far it's falling totally flat. I really dislike this class and it shows.

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This week is the beginning of the multicultural show period...auditions are this week and rehearsals start next week. I am trying to juggle more responsibility this year as the usual coordinator is out on maternity leave and the other coordinator has some major health issues that have forced her to take less of a role than previously, putting the majority of this on my shoulders. I actually don't love being in charge of anything outside my own classroom. I am really good at being a support to others, but I hate being in charge of anything this big and I am feeling really stressed out about it.

Another issue is that each year rehearsals become a battle with one particular coach who does not want his kids to miss any part of his 3 hour daily practice, and while I feel his pain, I'm not going to tell the kids they can't participate in the show because they are part of a sports team. I am planning on meeting with him before hand to work out a system, but an unfortunate and unavoidable issue is the fact that dress rehearsal is scheduled for the exact same time as the first track meet of the season. Oh, and did I mention that I also work the track meets?

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Mentoring is going well, my mentor teacher is very good but I feel like I am not helping her as effectively as I should. I hope I am giving her good advice and encouraging her to grow as a teacher, but I just am not sure about what I am doing.

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I haven't been able to go to tutoring since November. Sigh.

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I am taking over more responsibilities as the co-ASB coordinator, since the girl who does it now will be out on maternity leave starting in May. This means meetings every two weeks starting now, and an additional meeting every Monday starting at the end of March, as well as assisting with elections, and attempting to fill the shoes of an extremely talented leadership teacher who is totally beloved by the kids, all while not messing up things like the ASB budget and her system of doing things.

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I constantly feel like I am forgetting something really important and I hate that feeling.