Exhaustion & Frustration

This is my second week back at school. I still haven't gotten over the cold I picked up in the US and have started losing my voice, so teaching has gotten even more difficult. When I came back last week, we went immediately into exams and I only went from 9:30-11:30, so that was not bad. This week starts back classes, so I'm staying until 2:00 again :(

I have one exam left: Math. It was supposed to be today for both 7th and 8th grades, but the principal called Sunday and said it was changed to NEXT Monday. Some of the kids had mentioned that but I hadn't heard anything about it so I left them material and reviews as if the test were today. I am extremely frustrated with the school constantly changing the schedule and not informing me ahead of time - I feel sooo out of the loop.

This morning I was talking to a teacher who had spent several years in the US and teaches and speaks English. He shares my frustrations, so today we were venting together. He mentioned teachers' meetings and asked why I was never there! What? meetings? huh? There's another reason I hate teaching there. I never hear a thing about meetings. I feel like they just don't involve me in anything. I'm American and have a degree and they pay me for speaking English and for having a degree and I negotiated my pay - I feel like being American alone means they don't include me! I have no idea when meetings are, no one ever tells me, and I have no idea most of the time until the day of when we're getting out early or not having school the next day. Just today one of the students asked if they could have time to practice a dance for a competition they were having on Friday...dance? friday? Does that mean I don't have classes? I don't know how many times I have come to school prepared to teach a certain class and been told I don't have that class.

That's another thing. There are SO many holidays and "celebrations" and every one of them means a day off. It is ridiculous. They need class time to practice for the celebration. They get out half-day on Thursday because they have the celebration Friday. and of course Friday there are no classes and they celebrate. Classes are more important than celebrations! They can do like every other school I know (well, in the US) and schedule time AFTER school hours to celebrate, play sports, compete, whatever. No wonder the kids don't place any importance to their studying!

Every day is a struggle for me. I go in hopeful and thinking maybe today they'll pay attention and we'll get something done, and every day I go home depressed and searching for yet another strategy to make them listen and help them learn. I'm exhausted with it. and it certainly doesn't help that I have absolutely no training in education or in 13 and 14 year olds.