My 5th graders constantly blurt out, swear, roast each other, make racist/sexually charged comments, and pretty much completely disregard my entire existence. What can I possibly do? I bombed my formal evaluation because of behaviors.

Sorry, this is going to be a major rant, I tried to organize it as best as I can-

Hi,

So I'm a first-ish year teacher (had a long-term 5th grade sub job from January-June of this year, started my first contracted job back in October), and my class is an absolute nightmare. Just as the title says, behaviors are absolutely VILE in my class. I have 22 students, but it feels as though I have 50. I only have about 5 students that I never need to redirect. The vulgarity I hear (and gestures I see) from my students on a daily basis is shocking and disgusting, and there's nothing I can do to stop it since they never listen to me anyway. I literally feel as if I'm talking to a wall most of the time. Well... if a wall could interrupt me.

On rare occasions where I get the entire class quiet, someone immediately starts talking/commenting/making faces across the room at someone else to derail everything the second I start speaking. I've been told conflicting things from admin- I've heard not to expect perfection, and to just move things along... but I've also heard to never talk over them and to wait for them to stop and focus. Waiting for silence is pointless, because the rude students take me not saying anything as a sign that they can just do whatever the heck they want.

I think a lot of my students are genuinely lacking in impulse control, but there are plenty who I do believe know better and just get a kick out of trying to piss me off. For example, I was trying to get some information organized before heading out on a field trip last week, and my rudest student called me out saying "how do you not know that, aren't you the teacher?!" and I was SO ANGRY with him!! (Lucky for me, he tore up his permission slip upon receiving it because he didn't want to go on the trip)

I've tried to set and review clear expectations for every facet of the classroom, but if the students who need to hear them are constantly interrupting me when I do, then who is this actually for?

I had my formal evaluation on the 6th, and I completely bombed it. My principal had detailed notes on the numbers of students who were paying attention and following instructions, and the numbers were abysmal. For example, she mentioned that when I asked students to turn from the main smart board to the back of the room when I wanted to use the whiteboard, 0 students out of the 19 present did. When I asked again, 3 turned. Aaaand there's notes on other things, such as who turned to talk to their partner when asked (almost none), who completed the assigned exercises in their workbooks when asked (virtually none). How is that something I could control?

Between the horribly uncomfortable inappropriate comments I hear on a daily basis to the sheer disrespect and lack of human decency that my students show me on a daily basis, I'm constantly stressed and feeling miserable at work. We get pretty much NOTHING done in class, and I feel awful for the few students who want to learn and succeed. I feel like a failure for not having some magical solution, but I know there isn't one out there.

My principal game me a brochure of a ridiculously long amount of SIX HOUR classroom management PDs (many on Saturdays!) that she "strongly recommends" I attend, but what the heck could they possibly even tell me? Ooooh, give incentives? I do. Ooooh, give opportunities for them to talk? I try, they take advantage. Have clear expectations and consequences? Yep, I do... and they don't care.

The worst part is that my principal KNOWS they're a nightmare. She's yelled at/lectured my class countless times, and even at one point told them that they were the worst 5th grade class my school has ever had (I think that was out of line, but she's not wrong either). I just feel helpless. If my principal can't keep them in line, how the heck can I? The class's 4th grade teacher has told me that they were impossible for him too...

I just feel like I'm expected to perform some magic miracle, and I just can't. I'm stuck, and it absolutely sucks.