The dragon

Carlos.
Looking mean.

Today has been a day of BIG pain. Not good.

Also, many dealings with teenagers.

Softly softly, catchy monkey in 3 cases.

Another situation involving the most ridiculous argument between three friends which threatened to cause chaos in my lesson. What could it have been about?

2 hairgrips.

I kid you not.

You'd have thought the world was ending.

Tried to give one student the easy route out but she was so wound up that I got metaphorically hit in the face with by a brick wall. Eventually I won.

After school, gate duty and some ne'er-do-well who is not one of our students, but who has been at our gate for at least two nights and is known to some of our kids, was really rude to me. I know I shouldn't prejudge and stereotype, but I had visions of the hooded hoodlum with the vile mouth in ten years time...no job, swaggering around the locality like he owns it, verbally abusing all in his path. I told him to go away and in typical arrogant response of people like this his catchy repartie went along the lines of
"You can't make me"
I pointed out that he was right, I couldn't, but that if he was intent on being verbally abusive then I would ask our local bobby to attend at the gate tomorrow.
This was the point where his future played out in my head
"Yeah, well, the police can't f***ing do anything to me, so do what you like".

So I will.

It's frustrating not to be able to do anything. However, I will find out who he is tomorrow, and I will follow up...he is school age and we finish early on Wednesdays, so he must have been out of school early for some reason (and last night too) in order to get to us before the bell went to wait for our kids...so a phone call to the school that he SHOULD be at might sort that out. I will find a way because I am a dragonlady.

Ended the day with a vile headache but was eased by a long, frank open conversation with a colleague which allowed the world to be put to rights, just a little.

The pain continues now so I see no other course of action except a hot bath, a glass of wine and a relatively early night for me.