Uni student studying teaching

[AF.]

I'm in my final year of a 4 year University course. Things have been up and down in terms of my enjoyment of the profession. 2nd year into my course I had major considerations of dropping it but could not think of anything else to move into. Fast forward a year and I had the best 3rd year experience of my life. Working in a high school really rejuvinated my love for teaching.

 

Fast forward a year later to today, and I am once again having those doubts of a career path that just isn't for me.

 

I'm currently placed in a Primary School (ages 4-12) and I'm working with 11-12 year olds (Grade 5 and 6's in Australia). I have no control over the classroom. The kids dislike me and disobey me. I started off soft with them and have not been able to maintain an orderly working environment within the classroom.

 

Today I hit melting point. Everything I tried was greeted with a 'no' and the students clearly do not take me seriously. The school I'm placed at is in a low-socio economic area and the class I'm taking over is tough. There is one kid who is a red-alert, the whole staff knows about him and basically he is a child who comes from a tough background and basically does not give a **** about rules and guidelines. There are other kids that surround him who have also latched on to his mentality and have started to take advantage of me.

 

Today I kept them in at lunch time and they did not give a ****. I've lost control of this class and I'm seriously having doubts about myself as a teacher considering in a couple months I'll be fully qualified and ready to search for a job.

 

Any teachers here with words of advice? Does it get easier? What have I done wrong and how can I ammend it? Is this a common occurance for a young aspiring teacher placed in a tough school and setting?

 

My patience is wearing thin with these students. Maintaining a quiet working environment is next to impossible. Partly because the teacher who usually takes them lets them get away with a lot.