Dirty Work

There aren't words to describe how I feel about staff meetings. I doubt that much needs to be said. I know that everybody that has at least one co-worker probably has to have similar meetings. But it's just that they never seem to come with good news. Today was no exception. Among other, less depressing but more annoying things, I learned that a student at my school, for some reason or another, told the principal that she was going to step in front of a car (our school being conveniently located at a major intersection), and then she did. And guess what? She got hit by that car. No word yet as to whether or not she's okay, but I think it goes without saying that regardless of any broken bones, she's not really okay.

After that pick-me-up meeting, I got a note from one of our VPs that informed me that one of my grade 10's had a parent who was fatally ill, was going in for surgery this week and might not survive the procedure. Would I please take this into consideration if attendance, attitude or work completion became an issue? P.S. She doesn't know I know, so keep my mouth shut about it.

This kid's dad is dying - I don't know why she's even at school. Again, words fail me. Time and time again, I am reminded of how what happens in my cramped and dirty classroom is only a tiny fraction of what is going on in the lives of some of my students. How am I supposed to make Life of Pi or Hamlet seem important to these kids? Should I even bother?

It's times like these that I wonder at my friends and colleagues whose job it is to counsel these kids through times of trial. I know that their job is vastly different from my job and I marvel at how they don't through themselves off a bridge at the negativity of it all. I LOVE my job. It brings me a so many kinds of joy, but what is the joy in their job? I know some of you are reading this and you have answers for me, so please, after a day of wiping sh*t off of your office walls, what do you do to make your day feel better? Does it always involve a bottle of wine? Do you hug your kids and your cats and thank God that your life isn't as bad of some of these students' lives?

I guess in the end, we all feel like what we do is important to our kids and that's what gives our work meaning. Cudos to you guys for doing that very dirty work. You should be excused from at least one staff meeting each month!