I wasn’t terribly worried about finding a job in St. Louis – teachers were in short supply and they have a huge school system, so I knew I’d be able to do what I loved after we moved. I just didn’t realize what a vast difference there’d be between my first and second year of teaching.
My first year teaching was both challenging and demanding…a veritable dunking booth that abruptly dropped me into real world teaching where it was sink or swim, baby. But it was also rewarding, invigorating, and uplifting. Even on my hardest days I was glad to be where I was.
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d harbor serious concerns about teaching only 365 days later.
St. Louis uses an unusual system – Special Education is its own district there, responsible for hiring and assigning teachers to the St. Louis public schools. Like many other organizations, though, last man in got some of the hardest assignments, which is how I ended up teaching special education in an inner city middle school as a newbie.
I shared a small lower level classroom with the high school special ed teacher. They were rebuilding the high school that year, so those students had been smushed into the middle school with what can only be kindly called mixed results. Our classroom used to be the janitor’s space and had no direct line of communication to the office, a detail that didn’t cause me concern at the beginning of the school year. I didn’t know enough to realize there might be times when response time would be critical.
I was certified to teach LD/BD (learning disabilities and behavior disorders) for K-12, but for reasons surpassing understanding there was also an MR (mental retardation) student in my class. Putting aside the fact that I wasn’t trained properly in that specialty, I was already wary of combining teenagers with learning and behavior problems in such a small space. These populations have very different needs. Add in the pressure cooker of middle school, high school students in the building, hormonal issues, and often difficult home environments…well, talk about the perfect storm.
The first sign that we weren’t in Kansas anymore came when a student threatened to key my car. Saying it out loud doesn’t sound quite as scary now, but to a fresh faced 25-year-old girl with only a year under her teaching belt in a rural school? Truth be told, it kind of freaked me out. It didn’t help that the kid described my Miata to a T and we had to park on city streets surrounding the school. I never quite relaxed walking to my car after work again.
There were a lot of day to day stressors I seem to have blocked (though I bet BrightSide could give you an earful). I remember experiencing a lot of anxiety that year, and a growing uneasiness with teaching that made it harder to go to work with each passing day. Then there was the time a student punched a teacher in the chest on the school’s front steps. The assault would have been bad enough, but it was one of those one-in-a-million strikes that caused his heart to stop. The teacher died.
Things became increasingly dicey in my classroom, and the school system structure complicated things. Technically my supervisor wasn’t on site, and technically my students were served by the Special School District. This made things trickier than they should have been with the principal’s office. I didn’t really feel like I had backup in the building; then again, I also think I was too young (and maybe, dare I say it, timid) to shout until I got what I needed.
The final straw was when one of my male students went into a rage, picked up a desk, and hurled it at me. That was the day I realized there was no way to call for help from my room, and if anything bad happened no one would find me until the high school teacher arrived to use the space.
Somehow I managed to finish out the school year, but my time there left a mark.
My supervisor transferred me to an elementary school for the following year, but by Christmas break I realized I couldn’t teach any more. I took a medical leave, hoping some time off would mean I could finish the year, but eventually I had to admit that returning to school just wasn’t something I could do. I took a receptionist position for the remainder of our time in St. Louis.
I thought that was the end of my teaching career, but life has a way of surprising you.
I hate it when the ethics of a job are missing. Teaching is too important not to have solid support from admin. I cannot imagine the grief of those involved with the teacher who died.
Your story reminds me of my girlfriend who decided to ‘give back’ by teaching in southside Chicago. I have never heard more deplorable teaching stories. And she did it for two years. Now, she teaches in a highly affluent system and tells tales of an opposite Bizzaro world, but none of them are dangerous, so there’s that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You know, I’ve yet to meet a teacher who doesn’t have bizzaro stories of some sort. It just seems to come as part of the package. God bless her for those years in Chicago — it is a high calling, and one that takes a strong soul.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have known several teachers who left the profession after 1-3 years because of student behaviors. Teachers who have no backup and who are intimidated by their students are most at risk and that’s so sad. I’m glad you got out of there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s such a loss, isn’t it? We can’t afford to lose teachers, and I can only imagine the situation’s gotten worse since ’97.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Scary stuff. My brother taught ED/LD middle school but he’s a big guy that not many people would threaten. The stories he tells…hard to think of you in that environment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looking back now, I see things that astound me. I chalk taking that job up to the sheer hutzpah of the young.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow… talk about starting out rough. Bet you were happy to get out of there!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Seriously. But it also pained me — I’d trained for so long, teaching was what I wanted to do, and admitting I couldn’t teach in a school felt like a failure to me. I actually think writing this gave me the best perspective I’ve had on my time there…
LikeLiked by 1 person
There’s nothing quite like you’ve been hired to do the job you’ve trained for but not feeling like you can do it adequately.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
that is so scary, can’t wait to see what happens…
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s amazing how many people’s stories seem like cliff hangers when we look back at them… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person