I am a high school biology teacher and I can absolutely relate. My teacher training program prepared me to create assessments and manage my classroom...but not for all of the other crazy, sad, inappropriate situations that I've found myself in over the years.

In my very first year of teaching, I was at a middle school and I had a very naughty group of boys. I was pregnant and one told me he was going to 'kick me in the stomach until my baby died' because I reprimanded him in class. Anyway, I made it through that year OK (and many more since then).

Just a few years ago, I learned that one of those boys died of a heroin overdose. I was sad, but not surprised.

But then just this summer, I was at a grand opening of this beautiful new real-estate development near where I live and these three very handsome, very health and well-dressed men approached me--not something I'm used to as a frumpy middle aged mom.

They recognized me from that first year of teaching and they were some of the other naughty little boys! Turns out, they all had jobs in construction and had worked to build the buildings in the development! I was so proud and happy.

Anyway, good luck to you and thanks for writing.