Hot Sweaty Cranky Kids vs. Hot Sweaty Cranky Teacher

I was a little bit nervous about the school that I went to today, it was a few blocks away from one of my nightmare schools from last year. If anything the neighborhood around this school looked even worse - lots of boarded up crappy housing, lots of people hanging out drinking even at 8 in the morning. But the school was so much better. The only behavior problems I was dealing with were talkative kids. I can handle that.

What a difference there is when you are in a school with a good principal and a good regular teacher. Things move so much more smoothly.

That's not to say today was perfect. The room I was in was so incredibly hot. The temperature was over 85 degrees and very high humidity because of Ivan's approach. Of course the school had no air conditioning (except for the teacher's lounge).

All of us survived the morning, but tempers were short among everyone in the afternoon (including myself). I couldn't blame anyone for not wanting to learn, but I still had lesson plans to plow through. It seemed every few minutes we are having to stop again because of talking, people complaining about the heat. I did have one extra measure of control today. It was up to me whether the fans were on high, low, or even off. The class quieted down really quick if I switched a fan off. Slightly cruel yes, but highly effective. I couldn't really leave the fan off for that long of period because then it meant I was suffering just as much as they were.

Oh yes, and the other thing about being in a room filled with kids on a hot day, after recess.....the smells! Often not a pleasant thing...even the kids were plugging there noses.

Of course the kids like to say things to you when they are upset like, "I can't wait till I can leave this stinking place." Truth of the matter was, neither could I. Nothing against the kids, but I don't like sweating anymore than any of them do.

Tomorrow's job is right around the corner...it should be interesting being at a school so close to home. Am I going to recognize kids from the neighborhood? Am I going to recognize kids from my summer library job? We shall see!