The Latest 6th Grade Drama (and the last of three posts today)

I might be about to lose my job.

Yesterday, with 15 minutes left in 7th period, a parent walked into my Bible class in order to have an impromptu meeting about her son's English grade. Despite my best efforts to get her to come back at a more appropriate time, she stays throughout the rest of the period, taking my attention away from my class.

By the end of that 15 minutes, two of my students had managed to stick a paper clip into an electrical outlet, shocking themselves and leaving a black stain on the wall from the sparks that flew. My outlets are all blown. I have no clock, no overhead, no lamp to warm up my stark, sterile classroom.

5 minutes later I was telling my principal about it when the Dean of Discipline walks by and says, "Hey, I hear you had a fire in your room this afternoon." 20 minutes later, as I walk in Cal's classroom, a high school student that I've never even seen before asks if I'm Miss Terry, then says that he heard about the fire during 7th period.

My room has become a museum of sorts, with students of all ages stopping by at the door throughout the day to see the scene of the crime. "Which outlet was it?" a particular student will whisper to another, who promptly and gravely points to the black one across the room. They then leave, only to be replaced by another set of curious sightseers.

Ahh, the joys of teaching in a private school. I'm waiting for the parent phone calls to start.