A What????

You’re probably wondering exactly why this is called Wolf Pack Ed chat and where on earth did the werewolves come from, because you came to talk about challenging students, not a book review on the latest YA fantasy series.

Werewolves.

Yep.

One of the many things they don’t tell you about in teacher’s college. You remember the beginning of your journey, don’t you? You showed up for first day (super early with your decaf bevvie), loaded up wth every classroom management plan, differentiated instructions streaming in the back of your brain, seating plan compete with colour coded sticky labels, a beautifully organized rainbow of desks, pencils sharpened, Chrome books charged…the bell rings… you do your most awesome, cheerful, giddy up let’s go team smile!

Among all the excited, cheery faces, the polite “good mornings”, you knew this was just as it should be, like they told you in teacher’s college-set the tone and the rest will follow. If you have a plan (and you have yours broken down into subsections with neon post its, tied down to the nanosecond….ice breaker, puzzles, read, co-constructed exactly as you envisioned learning outcomes, think pair share, jigsaw, doodles, whoodles, whizzles and whambuzzles, exit cards whew!) the day will run like a well oiled machine with oh so much learning! Fantabulous, you think to yourself! This is why you became a teacher! Your ice breakers are sizzling and you are on top of the world envisioning “teacher of the year” trophies and awards, and then the door crashes open.

Enter, the werewolf.

Hmmm. They didn’t mention these during your role playing exercises in classroom management 101.

Werewolves will enter a room using a variety of techniques. There is the “Slam and Scowl”, the “Hyena Hilarity”, and the “Scurry and Scramble”, each which is disruptive to your magical flow, because invariably your carefully orchestrated rhythm has flown out the window where your patience will shortly follow, and without some research, you’ll be flying in at the bell, XL triple espresso in one hand Tylenol in the other with visions of summer break competing with thoughts of alternative career choices, and didn’t your mom tell you to be a vet?

How did I get to this point? During a discussion about a delayed addition to my class , someone told me, ” Weiler, they could put a werewolf in your room and you would say he’s just misunderstood. You’re like the werewolf whisperer”. I chuckled at the time, but then I thought about it. For some, they really were werewolves-the behavioural, the unwanted, the “holy shit you got who in your class?”, the fragile, the broken. These were “my kids”, “my crew”, “my pet monsters”. All of them. Gray hair inducing or not, I wouldn’t trade them for the world.

You see, over 20 years ago, no one told me about werewolves. I was tossed into an alt program 8 months into my career, partnered with the true master mentor who taught me the core values I carry with me today. It was a journey and a half from the naive, trying to find her style, her tone,her balance, to the werewolf whisperer today.

I don’t know everything. Heck, on some days, even with the xl coffee on tap I can’t find my glasses, and my pet monsters are howling laughing at me taking snap chat videos of it all. Other days, storms are brewing and we have issues. They have given me moments of great joy and extreme sadness, and I’ve cried on both accounts.

This is the home for those who teach and /or love werewolves. It’s the wolf pack, because together we are stronger. We support our kids and each other. Our journeys are all different, our placements and our challenges, but each is valued.

So, welcome. Pull up a chair, grab glass of wine, or a mug of your favourite, some snacks and relax. We’ll share some laughs, and maybe some tears, some jokes and hardcore strategies. This is where we can be real. Because the struggle is real. Because our kids are real.

Hugs to you all and positive universe vibes. If you’re on this journey, you’re already amazing!

Breathe. We got this. Wolf pack unite.

Annie