A student's education is as good as the teacher who provides it. People are insane to put students into the care of teachers who are not cared for themselves; in doing this they drive quality teachers away from the profession, and those who stay shudder to remember those dark Novembers. In this article, the author recounts her first year of teaching experience. The height of her desperation came in late November when she had to attend her first Network of Performance Based Schools meeting in a neighbouring city.