Bad Day Vent Session

Today was Lisa's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day at work. I think I'll move to Australia. It started yesterday, I guess, when I thought it would be a good idea to take today, (Thursday) off from work so I had all my sub plans in place. Well, I ended up going to school anyway thinking I might as well save a sick day until it's at least sunny outside. So off to school I go, tired because Trav and I went out to see some of his high school friends at a bluegrass/folk duo show (also high school friends), after which we went out for a drink but were home and in bed by 11:30. So this morning I was a little more tired than usual AND it was pouring rain/sleet and cold. Gross.
So, in the classroom, the boy who was suspended yesterday was back in school and I tried helping him with his morning work, but he refused my help and said stuff like "I don't gotta do this." Okay, that's so nice, walked away and didn't let it get to me. By the next subject when I was trying to help him again I got, "I'm not smart like the other kids are..." and I feel a little bad and try complimenting him on all the things he's good at...he's not having it. I go on teaching. He begins tapping his desk. I politely ask him to stop. He taps louder. I am now feeling less polite but I'm trying hard to not lose my cool. Hands banging on the desk, I tell him I'm going to call the "behaviorist" then realize that that is what he wants me to do, so I don't. He is now banging his math book on his desk, I'm shaking my head, hands on hips, taking a deep breathe as the sub-girl in my room offered to take the rest of the class somewhere else. I said that was a good idea and upon that, the book-banger got up, pushed a bookshelf nearly over and stormed out of the room, right into the principal who was giving a tour of the school to prospective paras.
Good. He's out of my room and I can teach. In the meantime I had called the office to let them know that that child is not welcome back into my room for the rest of the day (this behavior has been going on for a couple months now and I'm at my wits end. I just want to teach the kids that are there to learn. I am not qualified to cure socio-emotional issues...)
So he's gone, I am all out of sorts, and can't even focus on teaching, not to mention that the other kids in the class get all shaken up when those kinds of things happen, so lucky for them, they got to play math games while I decompressed.
Later in the day, I get an email from a support staffer saying "when is so and so's conference, I'd like to attend" (this is a different child)...I respond, "I don't meet with that family because that mom decided early on that we don't need to communicate any longer." She responds, "Well, I'd like to call her and invite her in." I'm now holding back tears because I am actually afraid of this woman/mom and I now Refuse to put myself in a situation to deal with her again (in 10 years of teaching, I have Never felt so strongly about a parent)...so I respond and "cc" the principal that I am not going to be in attendance in any meeting with this woman because she actually made me sick in our earlier interactions...(anyone interested in being a teacher??? everyone thinks it so nice and noble and cute....this is the reality though)...so after that email, the support staffer (new to our building) comes to apologize, not realizing the significance, and I burst into tears, the tears I wanted to let out first thing in the morning when I'm trying to teach and mr. suspension was banging on his desk...So I gather myself back together while the kids are at Spanish and now my only job is to dismiss these kids. I'm waiting for a quiet class....almost perfect, this one's talking (mr. "mom" issues) so I give him a "warning" he talks back "I don't care" so I give him a "red card, which means no recess, he yell's "I hate you!!" as Ms. behaviorist is walking through to bus duty and so she sends him to the office. Just after that, Mr. Suspension who was returned at the end of the day asks to go to the bathroom, I say, "there's already 2 boys out...wait till one comes back" he leaves on his own without waiting...eventually the social worker calls, as the buses are being called and I'm making sure all the kids have their report cards (so, chaos) and cheerily tells me how she has mr. suspension now and that everything is okay...I say "it's not okay that this kid keeps walking out of the room. I'm tired of it, I need to teach and look out for the best interest of the rest of the kids...yadda yadda...(and me, for that matter). I'm ready to dismiss the kids when this little girl comes up to me and says, "I'm sorry that some of the kids made you have a bad day." Instant tears...I thanked her and felt terrible that the rest of the class had to deal with all of this junk that makes a grown up so upset. How must it make those 8 year olds feel? So not fair.
So, I dismissed the kids, thanking each of them for doing a great job today (the ones who were left) and prepared my sub plans for Friday. I'm done acting like everything is okay and everything is under control when it's not. I feel like crap as a result of my job, emotionally more than anything else, and I also am made to feel guilty for taking a day off. Once my sub-plans were done, I went to my principal before I even left the building and told her flat out I would be taking a sick day on Friday...the plans were all set, but that I was at my capacity, and if I didn't take the day off, I would only get sicker. If the school is going to allow students to continue to return to the classroom after being utterly disrespectful time and again then I truly need to look out for myself more...there's clearly a breaking point, only so much disrespect you can handle (even from little kids) before enough is enough...(oh, I forgot to share that as Mr. Pain in the neck Mom was leaving for the office, he yelled 'I hope you get fired' to me...) so nice...and people wonder why I've been considering leaving the noble teaching profession...
And so my April vacation begins a day early.