You carry a great burden of souls in that classroom, and it is no small thing to be set as a guide over the young. The teacher's part is not to waver in anything, but to declare all things plainly, as the blessed John shows. When you saw the day begin strong and then dissolve into distraction, you saw the very weakness of our human nature: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Do not be discouraged. Even the Apostle found that he could not always speak as he wished, but had to feed his hearers with milk, not solid food, because they were not able to bear it. So you, too, must bear with these little ones as they learn to bear the yoke of discipline.
For the student who strikes others, remember that the law of eye for eye was given not to let loose our hands against the aggressor, but to bind the hands of the aggressor through the fear of consequence. Yet we are called to something higher: to preserve both the wounded and the wounder safe and sound. This child needs not only correction but a sharp bracing, like salt, given in love. Salt stings the sore, but it preserves from decay. When you rebuke him firmly yet without wrath, you become a teacher not of one classroom alone but one who patterns after the apostles, who became dear to all men not by flattering but by such sharpness steeped in love. Pray that you may be both truthful and tender, and that his heart may be softened.
As for the coldness you feel among your coworkers, consider what shipwreck comes when the life is corrupt, and how easily the neglect of a good conscience breeds a doctrine congenial to it. If they exclude you, it may be that your very desire to keep faith and a good conscience sets you apart. Do not then repay their slight with bitterness, but hold fast what is good. The Teacher must first teach himself, lest after guiding others he himself be cast away. Gently examine your own heart: is there any root of resentment or self-pity that needs to be plucked out? Then pray for them, that they may be profitable for the salvation of many and not become traitors to the weak by a careless life.
Above all, fix your mind not on the earthly approval that fades, but on that testament sealed by the blood of Christ. He has made you a witness, and He demands something from you: to keep His new commandment of love. Bear witness by your patience, your diligence, and your refusal to return evil for evil. Do not fear the small terrors of human opinion, for if Moses trembled at Sinai, how much more should we approach our daily duties with fear and trembling before the God who is a consuming fire? Yet this fear does not cast out love; it purifies it. Let your classroom be a place where you not only teach lessons but also, by your example, teach the children to desire the incorruptible garment of virtue rather than the filthy rags of worldly passions.
I will pray with you that your own soul is first firmly anchored in faith, for reasoning alone produces shipwreck, but faith is the safe ship. May you be given wisdom to adapt your words to the weakness of your hearers, courage to correct with love, and the quiet confidence of one who knows she serves not men but the Lord Christ. And may He, who sees your labor and your isolation, grant you a double portion of His Spirit, that you may not only endure but abound in hope, and that your class may be drawn by that hope into joyful, focused learning.