Venting

I find that as this quarter comes to a close that I am more stressed out than ever. Can a teacher really burn out in Oct. when school started in Aug.? I find that I am so overwhelmed by all my obligations that I sometimes just want to quit. If I feel like this already, I wonder what students feel like. So many of them have such heavy academic loads and then they add sports participation, work, clubs, family, religion, and all the other life events. When do they sleep?

What will happen as the year progresses? Will things get worse? Will both my students and I explode? quit? give up? Where will we all get the strength or fortitude to plow through all the "stuff" in our lives and survive yet another school year?

I am thinking a vacation is in order- a long one to Hawaii or a cruise to sunny beaches and hot climates.

Any other options to surviving the school year?

Gossip

Gossip is a great problem in this school. How do we address it and the hurt, misunderstanding and fighting that it causes? Should teachers and others "punish" those who gossip? How? What about when the gossip comes from those in authority? Should people be confronted by those they gossip about? Am I just overreacting to this problem? Is it just a part of life?