Ah, I see. That makes more sense re: starting the class so late.
And you know what I mean by choose. If you choose a mainstream school for your child who has SEN, you have to go in knowing there is not going to be the same provision as in a specialist school. Expecting every teacher to be trained in how to deal with your daughter's autism is unrealistic. This training doesn't happen and mainstream teachers do their best based on their experience and instinct, but that's all. There is no money or time for training. So you have to be prepared for that.
Look, I don't know the school, I don't know the teacher, I don't know the exact circumstances. I'm just giving you a teacher's perspective of how things are on the ground.
And yes, actually, I have snapped at colleagues and at my Headteacher, several times. We all have. Teaching is really stressful and sometimes really upsetting, and sometimes you do lose your cool because you're human. Honestly, please, do it for a day before trying to judge and blame. I remember vividly one day when a lovely child in my form came to me in the break between lessons to tell me she'd been raped at the weekend by a family member. I had to hold it together while she made this disclosure to me, take her over to the pastoral support building and hold her hand while she told the DSL what had happened, then run back over and teach my next class, all while holding back tears and having to act as if everything was perfectly normal. It was exhausting and I was a crying wreck at the end of it. I cried alone in my classroom, then had to go and splash water on my face to then come back and teach the next class. In many schools, that is the day-to-day reality for teachers. When your child comes home and says 'Mrs X was mean to me today' and you go in all guns blazing, you genuinely have no idea what that teacher will have been dealing with mentally while trying to teach your child.
I do my best to always be polite, kind, loving and caring to my students. But sometimes they really, really, really test my patience, and sometimes I do snap. Especially when I'm tired, or ill, or I've got shit going on in my own life. I'm not perfect. I do my best, but sometimes I let myself and the kids down. I always apologise when I do, but I know that sometimes that won't be enough for a child who's been hurt by what I've thoughtlessly said in a moment of stress. And it's not easy to live with that. I've cried many times after a long day at work, beating myself up for all the things I could and should have done differently. It's not an easy gig.
It really, really bothers me that so many people who have no idea what it's like, seem to expect teachers to be superhuman. It all adds to the pressure we're already under, and it's crippling. It really is.