Desperately Seeking Spring Break

It's been a while since I last posted. When I re-read my last post, I realized that some things haven't changed much. My ears finally cleared up and everything seemed right with the world (on that front, at least) for about ten days. Then they clogged up again, but this time I don't know why. I don't have a cold or congestion or ANYTHING. So I got a doctor's appointment and took the day off, excited to finally get some resolution. But alas, of course it was not to be. The doctor took one look in my ears, literally laughed out loud, and referred me to a specialist. She said that they were definitely red and bulging, but they were also opaque so she couldn't see what was going on entirely. I am back on antibiotics while I wait for my ENT and audiology appointment, not that the drugs are doing ANYTHING, mind you. To make things even better, I can't get in until April 14. Apparently doctors at the University of Michigan only work 2 days a week or something, and this one only works 1/2 days at that. So I have to put up with this for another three weeks and take off another day of work. That wouldn't be so bad except that it will be only two days after we get back from spring break. Meaning, I won't really be needing a day off. C'est la guerre, I guess.

School hasn't been easy either. Not being able to hear much definitely puts you at a disadvantage in the classroom, first of all. But some of the kids have gone completely off the deep end and we have had a series of really bad fights in the past two weeks. Four teachers have been injured breaking up said fights, although none of us badly. I include myself in this number--I was elbowed in the mouth and had my finger bent back so much that the diamond in my ring cut into my knuckle. The administration didn't understand that the kid did this in an attempt to break free so he could pound the other kid into the ground, so the boy got two days OSS instead of being expelled. What? Anywhere else, fighting of ANY SORT (including self-defense) earns you between three and five days off without questions asked, and hitting a teacher, even accidentally, is grounds for expulsion. The same kid who hit me got into another altercation once he got back and another teacher got hit in the collarbone while breaking that one up. We are hoping that some of the perpetrators will not be returning but unfortunately I have learned not to believe anything until I verify it with my own eyes.

And then there's the usual crap that we have to put up with when spring arrives. The kids are antsy and even more opinionated than usual, it seems. Even some of my "good" kids have been starting to irritate me. I arranged to take the 6th graders to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which we are reading together. I got guff about it because it wasn't "educational". Um, seriously? Apparently I am supposed to take them someplace "cultural". Because I am sure that they would behave well at the art museum. At least it was approved, I guess, although I am not sure they could deny me since 5th grade is going too (on a different day). Makes me wonder why I even bother. Also discovered today that someone keyed another teacher's car. Not just a scratch, but full-on Wolverine scratches from front to back. I can't even imagine what May will be like if it is this nutso in March!