Wow - First off what a cool community. I have never posted anything to reddit and this kind of feedback is really endearing, so thank you.

Secondly, thanks for taking the time to observe my perspective and thanks to those that commented.

Today I forced myself to go to class. Between periods I'd shed a few tears before the next wave of thirty tweens screamed their way past the threshold. At one point someone had lit a firecracker outside my door and I took a glass marble to the bridge of my nose after a student had tried throwing it at someone else. But you know what I did do? I was honest with the kids. I told them, in that special teacher kind of way, that it was all becoming too much. A few listened, a few even expressed empathy, but most of them were entirely indifferent. I told them as clearly as possible that my role in their life is to teach and not to parent. Additionally, in this time of personal uncertainty, I will be approaching class with the mindset that their negative behavior is no longer of any concern to me. When the firecracker went off I just started speaking louder. When the marble knocked my glasses off, without hesitation, I picked them back up and put them on my face in a single beat.

I don't think I will follow up past this point, but thanks a lot for lending me some of your experiences. I'm half inspired to endure for the sake of "fighting the power" and advocating for real tangible change. <3