Just Another Day (Ed)

Just Another Day

    June 6th

    Dear Diary,

    It was the last day of school today.  Another summer “vacation.”  Saw all the kids out the door.  I won’t be seeing some of them for another three months.  Others, the real trouble makers, will be back in a week for summer school.  And some of them are graduating.  I’m going to miss all of them so much, but those particularly.
    D.’s mom came by on her afternoon rounds with a basket full of muffins for me as a present.  I let D. out a few minutes ahead of the bell to go home with her mom.  Those two are so sweet together.  It reminds me of why I got into this business.
    S&S practically tripped over themselves trying to get out the door.  What a couple of goofballs.  I hope they have a good week of fun.  I’ll be seeing them both soon enough.  I think I can really turn the both of them around this summer.  They’ve shown a lot of progress in the last few weeks.  I wish they had started a little earlier in the year.  The first few weeks really hurt their grades.
    S.D. and P.P. took off pretty fast too.  They were singing that “no more teachers” song.  Can’t say I blame them; I used to sing it myself back when I was their age.  I wonder how far back it goes?  Probably all the way to the invention of teachers (ha ha).  Wish I had gotten to know them a little better.  Seems like they just sort of slipped right by.
    T. is such a little sweetie.  She left another one of her candies on my desk and blushed as she left.  That voice... that hair... she’s so awkward it’s adorable.  Once she grows up and fills out, I bet she’ll be a real knockout.  Still, must be pretty tough on her right now, and for another year or two.  I caught SS and DT making fun of her again at recess.  DT’s still the instigator.  Sometimes I’d like to just take my hooves and wring her rotten little neck.  Then I remember what goes on in her home.  I just feel sorry for her, despite her horrible attitude.  She’s got it the roughest by far.
    AB seems the happiest.  What a change over just a couple of months ago.  She’s met a couple of new friends.  I don’t know them at all, they don’t go to my school.  But she’s clearly so happy to have them as friends it just makes me want to cheer (ha ha).  She’s the last in the class to not have a cutie mark.  But it doesn’t bother her a bit.  What a tough little cookie.  Just like her big sis.
    I cried when she left.  I cried when they all left.  The schoolhouse was suddenly so quiet.  I’m such a mess, I do this every single year.
    I think I’m going to resign.  I can’t take this anymore.  Not the kids leaving, that’s one of the sweet parts- they come back every fall and everything is right again.
    It’s this g_d job.  It’s driving me into an early grave.  I could get a job somewhere else for twice the money and three times the respect.  It’s not even about the money.  I wouldn’t have gotten into this position if it were about the money.  It’s the crap that I can’t take.  Most of the parents treat me like some kind of glorified babysitter.  At least until they let their little Cupcake or Floppy get away without doing any of their homework, and then I’m a monster for giving them a failing grade when they earned it. The District never listens to me.  They’re constantly changing my schedules.  They’re always dumping new students on me without a bit of notice.  I’m the only one who even bothers to follow the IEPs.  My textbooks are thirty years old.  They keep promising me they’ll buy new ones but they end up spending all the money on settlements because they never read the stupid IEPs.  These suits are more worried about lawsuits than they are about the students.  I’ve reported DT's parents to social services three &*#! times and they never find anything “actionable.”  I’m a mandatory reporter, and I’m happy to do it, but what’s the point in reporting if there’s nobody to listen?  Why am I doing any of these things if nobody even cares?
    I don’t know.
    It hurts.
    I care.
    I should call Mom.  I haven’t talked to her in a while.  She’ll know how to cheer me up (ha ha).
    I’m probably over-thinking this.  I said the same thing last year after all.  I’ll get up tomorrow and do it all over again.  I’ve got lesson plans to prepare for next Monday anyways.
    I guess today was just another day.

    -C.