towanda's fury unleashed

i need some time before i head home. or maybe i just need to go home and leave again. i need to drive. it's friday afternoon - a BEAUTIFUL friday afternoon, at that. 4:30, and i'm still at school because i had THREE freaking meetings. here are the basics.

meeting #1 - principal yells at me for not giving passes to five students, ALL OF WHOM HE CALLED TO THE OFFICE. i'm sorry - did you have your head up your ass again? are they not on the list? did you not just call them two minutes ago? they were doing what they were supposed to be doing!!!!! and now one of my kids has an hour detention. he should have just stayed in the room. ridiculous. so, i'm yelled at in one meeting, then i move on to another meeting, in which...

meeting #2 - principal yells at one of my favorite students. he doesn't do work for just about anybody else, but he's working for me. he tells the kid that he won't graduate (at which point, my student looks like he's about to cry), then demands that the student repeat back what he's just said. student is upset.. and rebellious.. and stubborn, so student chooses to remain silent, at which point principal says he's through with him and he washes his hands and he walks out of the room. student is dear to my heart, and i was borderline tears through the whole meeting (as was another teacher who also loves student).

meeting #3 - counselor from meeting 2 pulls two of us (teachers) into a closed room, says that we should have also washed our hands of student and made that known to student and his parent. jesusgod, i say. if somebody wants me to wash my hands, then he needs to be explicit in his instructions, AND i'm not washing my hands of this student. i'm not FUCKING DONE with him yet! and he's doing well in my class!!! and he's smart, but he feels like he's been wronged, and he's a teenager, and he's rebellious, and he's stubborn, so he's going to act the way he acts.

i can't talk about this right now. i'm furious, and i'm upset, and my heart aches for student, and i've been crying off and on since i got out of the meeting. AND one of our teachers - a friend of mine - disappeared today during sixth period. the students say that the police came - on orders of the administration - and took him away. WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT???? he's a good teacher, a dedicated teacher. they're wrong for doing that. I AM SO UPSET.