Please say it will get better

As mentioned in previous posts of mine in this sub, I teach at a small 6-12 private school. I started teaching at this school with 7th grade English, then moved up to 10th grade English, which is 1000% more my jam. I had to be way stricter when I taught 7th grade, both because of my status as a “baby” teacher and because I was genuinely young (several of my students had siblings who graduated high school at the same time as me).

This school year is my fourth year teaching at this private school and my third consecutive year teaching 10th grade English. If you do the math, that means I’m teaching my first ever batch of students again now as 10th grade graders.

As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, this batch of students’ parents very openly disparage and dislike me. No matter what I do to be professional and be open and helpful and positive, I am accused of being biased, both in terms of gender and race, and just general personal preference for some students over other others. Rationally I know that I do not let such biases influence my grading or how I run my classroom. I have constantly checked in with mentors and peers to ensure that everything I do is as above board as humanly possible.

Now, however , my principal seems to be getting tired of fielding the same parent complaints over and over about me. He’s asked to have a meeting with me tomorrow. This is following a parent meeting this morning that ended with me in tears after a father all but yelled at me and called me a sexist incompetent teacher. I genuinely do not know how much more of this I can take.

I have a sincere fear of authority from a lot of trauma from my own time in high school that makes it very difficult to appeal to my principal for guidance. He has also made some choices and comments in the past that make me feel like he is not 100% on my side as an advocate to the parents.

All I want for Christmas is to know I can make it through the school year because right now I don’t think I can make it through to Friday. Insight? Advice? Encouragement? Please share because I desperately need any at all you can give.