Recovering from the Power Outage Fiasco - 12/6/07

I was almost positive there was going to be fighting today. I’ve gotten very good at reading the signs in the school of a foreboding fight. The kids were on edge. Being sent home yesterday threw off their schedule for the rest of the week. I’d be surprised if they were even on track again tomorrow. I finished up the decline of the Roman Empire with first period and played Jeopardy with them to help them review for their test on Friday. They did well and I was pleased with their answers but they still acted strangely. Second and fourth periods were crazy. I had them working on individual tasks of looking up important and influential people from Rome. They couldn’t focus. I read them a story about the emperor Caligula but when I was done, I couldn’t bring them back to focusing. I guess sometimes every teacher has days like this. I just dealt with it as best as I could and when I left today, I left all the problems and the drama behind me at the school where I would like them to stay. I need to compartmentalize my experiences here more effectively.