Purple with Rage

Friday meant the end of my second term. 6 months of teaching, done. I really can't believe I have been here that long. So Monday means new kids, new schedule, new classes. I'm looking forward to the next term because I will be teaching more upper-level classes. I am told these are a lot more fun and of course, have a little bit more mental stimulation. It will be nice to use my brain in class and stop reacting only to misbehaving children. Anyway, the end of the term also meant receiving student evaluations. The kids were surveyed, asked a series of standard questions. Most of the questions I ranked about average or a little above, compared with the rest of the staff. Then comes the Student Opinions. In this section, the students have the option to write our merits and demerits. Some examples:

Merits:
-You're kind and funny. And your voice is loud.
-You teach class so carefully and make us understand well.
-You say to me exactly so I can know the correct meaning.
-You're kind and nice so I like you. You're bright and laugh readily.
-When Critical Thinking Project finish, you give us some clap.

Overall, the merits focused on how I teach meticulously to help the kids truly understand what they were learning. I patted myself on the back...this is what I am here for, is it not? Turn the page, demerits...

Demerits:
-When I sit some seat in front of the classroom, my ears have pain sometimes.
-You nag a lot.
-You're cold-hearted.
-You act irritated everyday and say "F" continuously...I'm annoyed (this is a quote, the kid actually said, I'm annoyed)
-Other students say some Korean but you point out only me.
-When you shout, your face turns purple with rage. Please don't shout.
-You make me that I never say anything during class. Your class is so boring everyday. You get angry too much over trifles.

This last one was the one that got me the most. Clearly I am a raging bitch, but boring?! No, but really, the idea that my particular class caused a kid to stop participating really hit me at my core. My reactions to the reports were mixed. Anyone that knows me well is aware of how poorly I take criticism. I can dish it out, but I definitely cannot take it. So yes, my feelings were hurt and I felt very defensive in my head. I also knew exactly who was writing what. I have one class that continuously gives me trouble. They are a low level middle school class. Not only are they lazy, and understand maybe 5% of my words, but they are punks. They have no respect and constantly mock me and disrupt class. I have gone off on them so many times, and yes, I am sure that my face turned purple with rage. See? I'm even getting defensive on this blog right now. After a little while, I realized I have to do exactly what the reports were meant to do: take them in and adjust accordingly. Apparently I am TOO loud, that shouldn't be that hard to fix. But the irritability thing is going to be a tough one. I cannot help it; the kids drive me absolutely crazy. And the whole disrespect aspect is a whole other issue. There is nothing that will infuriate me more than an outright disrespectful student. I guess I just have to pop a chill pill before I go to work.

The other complaints were things like "bring us pizza and snacks," "you make me come back from break too early" (CORRECTION, sir, I always give you at least 1-2 extra minutes, so shut your trap). "Class goes until the end" "you take too much time on the activities." These comments I just disregarded, obviously. You think you're getting pizza after that? hell no!

My co-workers received similar criticisms, and some were more hilarious than others. One of my co-worker's demerits was "your height is small and you can't kill the mosquito," whereas one of his merits was "your height is short and that makes me feel good because I don't have to look up when I talk to you."