My classes were violent, how were yours? otherwise known as I wish I knew aikido

My well-intentioned resolve not to bitch or moan or grump or write anything negative about The Zoo this time round has lasted less than a week. Good stuff :-/

I held off from the entry I was going to make between 1st and 2nd period:

I am getting blunter at this school. Case in point, Ms Ohashi and I were walking back to the staffroom when I saw some boys spitting off the balconey. I told them not do that, then immediately as Ms Ohashi and I continued, we heard them spit again. I groaned and we both kept going and Ms Ohashi asked if the students at my other schools were like this. I said no. She then asked if this was my worst school and I said yes, definitely. Worse students, not teachers though. I really like Ms Ohashi and didn’t want her to think I don’t like the school at all (just 90% of it), but I’m sick of playing diplomat between all my schools and not visibly favouring any of them.

That’s right, 2-3, the class with Iwahashi sensei and the two bullies, one of which actually has ADD.
Before class, when Iwahashi and I were waiting outside the classroom for the girls to finish changing from PE, Yutaro came up and started harassing Iwahashi, first lightly punching her hands (kinda like how friends do,but slowly getting more persistant) When she asked him to stop he started punching harder and aiming for her arms and stomach. She dodged most of them and grabbed a hold of him and told him to stop doing it. The conversation went like this: Iwahashi: Stop doing bad things
Yutaro: Let go of me
Iwahashi: Stop doing bad things
Yutaro: Let go of me rinse and repeat ad nauseaum.
As the struggle got more viloent I helped corner him but he broke free of us and spat on the floor by our feet, and that was how we started the class.

We’re doing reading tests so Iwahashi was explaining the procedure, tolerating outbursts from Yutaro. When he started cutting up his eraser and flicking bits at her, she tried to confiscate it. He came up with some sort of clip thing and pinched her with it, then other students on the way back to his seat. But he wouldn’t hand it over and Iwahashi went back to talking. She told him to stop flicking eraser, so he threw his pencil at her instead. At that point I stepped in. I went to his desk and confiscated his pencil, clip and notebook (not needed for class and I wasn’t going to leave it to be thrown at us) but he refused to give me the eraser. Iwahashi joined me and he bolted from his seat, throwing half the eraser :hard: at her. I told him in English, then Japanese, that if he behaved like this in Australia, no school would take him.

The rucus then went out into the corridor as Iwahashi and I chased him and kept him from going back into class. We then tried to take him to another room for the rest of class – we were both literally dragging him, but when he sat down at the top of the stairs we couldn’t really keep going without risking him falling to the bottom and injuring himself. So Iwahashi said she’d call the main staffroom and get some help, and went to the second staffroom – fortunately on the same floor as where we were.

Yutaro started to follow her so I pulled him back, got behind him and tried to keep him locked with his arms behind his back. He is actually quite a big boy – shorter than me, but bigger. If he was taller, I’d have no hope. So we struggled, he was trying judo moves on me to take my legs from under me – thank heaven for having indulged in many wrestling sessions with thag and Wendy, once upon a long time ago! I managed to stay on my feet, but eventually lost grip on him (high humidity makes them slippery little suckers!) and let him go rather than risk tearing his uniform – I was using :all: my strength. At the satrt of class I had been thinking of posting lj to ask for non-physical suggestions of ways to deal with him. I guess I progressed to physical pretty damn quickly.

At that point he turned around and threw the other part of the eraser hard at my face (my nose is still tender) and spat at me. I don’t actually know how much got me, but once I returned to the staffroom after class, first thing I did was take out my scarf and wash it and my hair.

He then ran into the second staffroom and slammed the door, and I followed, ashamedly also slamming the door. Iwahashi told me someone was coming to help and could I go back to the classroom and continue class, so I did – having to get half the class back from the corridor where they had been watching everything.

I was shaking and could feel the adrenaline pumping through my body, but told them how the test would work and went through the model reading with them. I could hear yelling from down the corridor, and had to keep some of the students in the classroom as they wanted to see what was happenign – heck, so did I. I didn’t like leaving Iwahashi there alone with him because I know he’s more violent with her than me, but at the same time someone had to take the class and I wasn’t able to explain to whoever was coming to help what had happened.

Iwahashi rejoined the class and we went ahead with the tests. Fortunately, my shakes didn’t become noticeable until after class when I reached the staffroom. I washed my hair, then went into the locker room and cried and tried to pull myself together. Then I remembered diffrent friends’ advice from the last bad innings I had with a student – at that time they said I should show the school that I was upset and that it was not okay; that I don’t have to gaman (put up with/preservere) like Japanese teachers.

So I went to Ms Ohashi and asked if we could reschedule our afternoon class because I was going home. By this point my hands were shaking so badly that she looked up from her desk and asked what was up. So I told her what had happened and that I wasn’t up to teaching again today. She called over Tomo and they both spoke with me, and found out what had gone on and worried about me riding home alone.

Tomo explained that Yutaro has ADD and has some sort of illness, but it does not make it okay for him to hit teachers. He said he would talk with Yutaro and Iwahashi and the VP. Ms Ohashi and Tomo then went and explained the situation to the VP who said it was fine for me to go home. Tomo also asked if I was injured, and said that probably at this point I wouldn’t know if I was hurt, but I may feel sore later as the adrenaline wears off. He said he’ll call me tonight. As I’ve been writing this, my nose has been getting more tender.

The VP beckoned me over and explained again the Yutaro has ADD. I said that I understood that, but that doesn’t explain his violence and does not make his behaviour acceptable – well said that as close as I can in Japanese, which is not nearly as strong. He told me to go home and get some rest and they’ll see me on Monday. Both Ms Ohashi and Tomo apologised again and were really sweet, telling me to go home and do something nice for myself. Ms ohashi told me to take off time whenever I feel tired – she is such a sweetie and has always been my number one supporter at The Zoo 9beofre Tomo – now there’s two of them..yay)

So, yes. Now I am home. The shaking has stopped but my stomach is still roiling. Next I will write an email to my supervisor to tell him what’s gone on and see what he says.

*deep breath and exhale* What a start to the weekend.