Being a teacher truly requires being an island of calm in an ocean of chaos and general ineptitude. My calm facade is practiced and perfect. Do I raise my voice? Sure. But only deliberately. My students, however, do not know this.
There are a few loud voices that I use. There is the simple projection- no emotion behind it, I just need to be heard over the cacaphony of adolescent voices. Then there is the loud but annoyed/disappointed voice. FOUR OUT OF TWENTY-SEVEN OF YOU TURNED IN YOUR HOMEWORK. THIS IS AN ISSUE AND A POOR LIFE CHOICE (I often tell my students that they are making poor life choices. It is generally true). Then there is the LOUD AND FURIOUS VOICE. Today, for the first time this year, I believe, I brought out my loud and furious voice for my 4th period class.
I came into the room from hall duty, hoping to see a class of quiet, orderly students, seated and working on a drill (one can always hope) and instead saw four of my male students beating on each other in the back of the classroom. Not maliciously, just the way that 15 year old boys horse around. But it was disruptive and not allowed. So, natch, loud and furious voice.
SIT DOWN RIGHT NOW! THIS BEHAVIOR IS UNACCEPTABLE. GET IN YOUR SEATS RIGHT NOW. NOW. (The word now is quite fun to say in a furious voice).
A scattering of students. And then stunned, jaw-dropping silence. Not a peep out of them for a good twenty minutes. The loud and furious voice is quite the powerful weapon.
Was I that angry? Nope. Did they really deserve my wrath and thunder? Negative. Had they been annoying the crap out of me the past few days and just needed the fear of god put into them? Yes indeed.
In other news, my week started with finding a kitchen knife the size of my forearm in the hallway. Oh, public schools.
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