Yesterday, a fight broke out between four students during our state mandated "activity period" which is 20 minutes between 2nd and 3rd block where we have to walk the kids around in circles in the hallways because the state of Tennessee thought requiring schools to provide 100 minutes per week of physical exercise would be a good way to tackle childhood obesity. Of course, Karns is one of the only schools that actually obeys this rule, but it's been a sense of pride for our principal that we do whatever they ask us to do. We've been having some issues with the students walking downstairs- there's just such a large number of them and they will slow down and create little traffic jams. The upstairs walking period (the one I supervise) has never really had many problems, but we have only about 1/3rd of the students that the downstairs hallways have.
Anyway, a fight broke out and one of the English teachers was attempting to either break up the fight or to just try and get the kids' attention so that they would stop. The details are hazy depending on who you ask, but apparently Mrs. Runger either was pushed or punched by the students in the fight or she was pushed by the students near the fight. Regardless, she fell, and her head literally bounced off the floor about six inches. She's in ICU right now with a brain bleed, so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. She's alert, but the doctor's are still nervous and keeping her under close supervision. Hopefully, she'll make a full recovery.
Needless to say, KHS was very much on edge today. We (the faculty) have suspended walking period for the remainder of the semester or until a safety assessment can be done, and any kid who so much as breathed wrong today was suspended. The lack of character I see in some of the students I have dealt with makes me sick to think about! Sometimes they give the impression that they don't care about ANYTHING! People always seem to say that being a teacher is not a hard job because we get snow days and summer breaks- but being paid so little to feel most days like you are the only discipline and guidance your students see is so hard emotionally. Everyone points a finger at the schools like it is our responsibility to produce well-rounded and productive members of society, but often times we have no help from home. I have students who are dealing with things in the afternoons that I would not wish on my worst enemy, and it breaks my heart. What we really need is a movement for better parenting, so that schools can do their jobs- teach!- instead of spending so much time trying to train students in social graces and morality- which should be learned at home.
Now I'm not a parent, so I know I really don't know what it's like, but I do know that as a teacher I work with so many amazing parents who are doing a great job. I really want to commend them on their students and the effort they put in to their child's education. Some teachers complain about having to have conferences or phone calls, but I love feeling like I've got some support. If you're one of those parents- Thank you! We had meetings with all the students today, and the majority of them are so concerned about Mrs. Runger. They even want to start a fund to raise money and send her flowers and get well cards! Now if that is not the sign of an amazing teacher, I don't know what it is! And it's so nice to know that most students at KHS are mature and loving, despite the media trying to make them all sound like hoodlums. <3
Anyway, I'm not really sure how much of this stuff I should be writing about on the internet any, although there's nothing on here you couldn't find out on the news. Actually there's not anything more to the story at all. They reported the facts, and that's it. I really just wanted to share my opinion and get it off my chest. I've been so stressed out- I actually fell asleep at 7pm last night. Totally ridiculous. I think that Dr. Davis and KHS are doing a FANTASTIC job handling the incident however. Incidents do happen, and hopefully Mrs. Runger will make a full recovery and everything will go back to normal in a few days... maybe we'll even have a snow day tomorrow? A girl can dream right?!?
So, enough craziness and on to my foods. Yesterday's lunch: tofu and veggie leftovers- Yum!
Dinner: pancakes with apple cinnamon topping- Nom. Nom. Nom.
Breakfasts have been sneaking away from the camera as they've been the same everyday for a while- Kerf oats with PB and chocolate chips: I just can't seem to shake them!
And dinner tonight was an egg sandwich with cheese and spinach, a side of mushrooms, and a green monster that Robert had half of- and he. liked. it. YES! :D
Okay, although I really want to make like Quin-Tater and hide for the rest of the evening, it's off to JBC for homecoming speakers.
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