Can't hack teaching for one day? really?!?

To Whom It May Concern,

Nobody said teaching would be easy. I mean every week I deal with my urban teaching stress in one or more of the following ways:

cry a little, watch another piece of my hair go gray (yes I'm only 26), drink a couple glasses of wine, want to scream, point out yet another wrinkle forming under my eye lids, or else I go to bed early. But do I get up each day. Yes, yes I do. Why because I can't help but love those little rugrats and believe in what I do.

What I don't understand are the teachers who quit in the middle of the school year. There are a million reasons on earth to quit. Trust me, I think about them sometimes at 6:30 on a Monday morning when I don't want to get up. I know the reasons, but that doesn't make it OK.

Then there are the teachers who quit after ONE DAY! My students are on their third special teacher. The second one quit after one day. She passed me in the hall at the end of the day and said, "It sure was one HELL of a day." I mean yeah, the kids are used to being left. So they will give any incoming teachers a hard time. They know which teachers they can give a run for their money, and honestly they don't trust that most of us will stick around. So yes, its a little hellish at first. These kids are tough and you have to hit the ground running, especially if you are coming into the school mid year.

So when this new teacher passed me by, I gave her a thumbs up and wrote down my room number. I said don't worry. come by and I'll help you. I mean its common sense. Go home. Eat some soul food. Get in your sweats and go to bed early. I mean set your alarm of course, because you HAVE to get back up and come back.

I mean the kids are waiting. So the lady doesn't come back the next day. I can't believe it. My children can't believe it. Now they have a sub and fill out the same worksheets they filled out with every other sub.

Nothing is ever easy without hard work, but seriously, future urban teachers, please ask yourself, 'can I HACK it?' before applying.

In the end it will benefit all of us.
Thanks.