it’s over. i can hear it again. the broken record. frustrated students: whining, procrastinating, quitting, etc. it is only drowned out by the exact same sounds coming loud and clear from the other teachers. frustrated to say the least. it is less compelling than ever to get up and go to work. maybe it won’t be as bad as i remember from 10 days ago. hopefully.

I’m still processing this, so forgive any lack of coherence. Yesterday, I taught some Algebra students how to solve inequalities with absolute value. In second period, Geometry students were finishing a test when we got the announcement, “This is a lockdown.” So we shut off the lights, and locked the door and sat up against the walls. It took about 10 minutes for the text messages to start coming in: there were shots fired in the band room, there are hostages, there’s a ransom note, etc. All hear say until the helicopter sounds were too loud to ignore. The principal came on the intercom, “This is not a drill, remain in your rooms, we are on lockdown.” A few minutes later, a counselor ran up the ramp to my room, so I jumped over the desks and opened the door as quick as I could. “Quick. Everyone, let’s go. We’re going to the 200 wing. Stay low and don’t talk.” The kids were up and out the door. Everything was left in the room. Back packs, silent reading books, p.e. clothes, pencils and mp3 players were all left as they were. I remember seeing the rows of people running from one room to the next, bent at the waste, and running as fast as they can. I was that person. With 25 students that I’m responsible for. We got to the room where they had moved some other students. There were over 100 students in this one room, sitting on the floor, and cell signal died. There were so many texts and calls going on that no one could get through. The police asked us to shut the phones off. They had the band room surrounded, and were trying to find a way to get everyone evacuated. The plan was to get us onto buses and take us to the Nazarene church, where parents were told to go to wait for us. As soon as the evacuation was going to start, the policeman was in our room directing us on what to do when he got a standby call, they arrested the kid. He had gone into the band room, taken hostages, released all but a few, and I still haven’t heard details on what happened to actually end it. I do know that there was a sniper called in. Then we loaded up on buses and evacuated to the church like was planned. Parents and kids, reunited. Nobody was hurt. Nobody wants to go back on Monday. Nobody.

So earlier this year I was RIFed.  (Reduction-In-Force) (Pink Slip) (etc.)  As more students have been adding and more teachers leaving, I had gotten back up to 4 classes out of 5 for next year.  I really want to be full time, so I have decided to take on physics.  I must say that I am very excited.  Some of you may not get excited by reviewing books upon books of formulas, but I do.  I get to take a sweet test.  It’s going to be awesome.