Tag Archives: teachers live at school

>Piece of (green) cake.

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>The email subject line at work said “It’s time to go green!”

What? I scoffed. I’m a green teacher; greener than most. Go green? Easy.

So I signed up for our wellness coordinator’s Green Planet Wellness program. I registered by email so as to save paper. Good start, I’d say. Starting on Earth Day, April 22, I’ll “…select from a list of 100+ reasonable, achievable green living activities segmented into 5 categories — Home, Work, Exercise, Nutrition, and Miscellaneous. Each activity is assigned a value of 1-4 green points, depending on its potential effect….There’s something for everyone — from simple steps like buying reusable grocery bags and trimming shrubbery manually, to more involved activities like installing low-flow shower heads and taking public transportation. Big or small, each step contributes to a healthier world and a healthier you.”

Ms. Wellness implies that we’ll learn new green habits that will help us live more “healthfully.” Is that a word?

Well, Ms. Wellness, I’ve been re-using copy paper for several years now. When the principal complained that “No one is making half sheet copies or copying on recycled paper!” the paraprofessionals in the copy room said, uh, wait a minute. Daisy has been doing both for a long time. I gather plastic shopping bags and pass them on for re-use. My white-board erasers are old socks, washed in Borax to remove as much of the color as possible. I’m using spelling activities copied two years ago and fitting my instruction to these, rather than making new copies to fit to my instruction. Penmanship? When the class finished using the copied pages, I began using manuscript paper from the supply room and writing the copy material on the chalkboard.

I’m faithful about turning off computers at night. I teach the kids to turn off the lights when we leave the room. Many of the materials I provide, from crayons to color pencils to correcting pens, are scavenged from years past when I prevented kids from throwing these away in June.

Green living? I enjoy learning new ways to act locally while thinking globally. But “go green?” Sorry, dear Ms. Wellness, I’m already green.

I’ll get a t-shirt for participating, and there are prizes along the way. Prizes or not, this looks like fun. I can feel successful at this program, even as I’m feeling less successful in teaching my challenging class.

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>Inbox, Outbox, and Pile of Things I Can’t Face

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The piles of paper grow. And grow, and grow, and grow. My goal: before spring break, which will arrive much too late for my taste this year, minimize the paper piles. Deal with them all, or organize them to a point that they don’t look quite so intimidating.


Yes, there are two coffee cups on the desk. One is empty, needing rinsing. The other is full of whatever blend I made that morning. I wasn’t drinking double that morning!

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>Wardrobe Function, Laundry, and Life

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>I complained heartily when La Petite brought her laundry home at Christmas. Next time, I swore, she would do her own. Then she got sick. Mono, the scourge of college students everywhere, chose her as its next target.
She kept insisting she was doing alright, didn’t need us to visit, she was getting enough rest, her professors were letting her catch up at her own pace, and the works. Then she relented. “I’m feeling exceedingly mono-y now. Can I come home to rest for a few days?” Of course, we said yes.
We wanted her to sleep, rest, and sleep some more, the only real cure for infectious mononucleosis. If she came home, we could handle all the cooking, the house would be quieter than her apartment, and I could (gulp) wash her growing heap of dirty clothes. I’m not a Laundry SuperHero Mom, but I have learned to be efficient and even eco-conscious with large loads of the family clothes.

Not all families are so lucky. I remember when we were young newlyweds and used the laundromat down the road. When La Petite was born, we owned a washer (after saving our pennies and quarters!), but we had no dryer. I hung everything on racks and lines in the basement of our apartment. There are families, though, who don’t even have those options.

That’s where Tide’s Loads of Hope program steps in. The program was born in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to assist families displaced by the storm. Tide Loads of Hope helps in the aftermath of a natural disaster by providing clean clothes and a sense of comfort to families in need. Tide Loads of Hope truck or vans, a free mobile laundry service, travel to disaster affected neighborhoods. Hurricanes, floods, you name it, people need to wash their underwear. Taking on one piece of the recovery puzzle helps lighten the load, er, the weight on the shoulders of disaster victims.

In the current disaster, the failing economy, donating to charities is down. But if you can spare a dime, Tide Loads of Hope t-shirts support this worthwhile program. Think about it; the more t-shirts in the dresser, the less often you’ll have to wash!

This Saturday morning as I’m alternating schoolwork with my strategic attack on the family mountain of dirty clothes, I resolve to feel grateful that I have a washer and dryer in the basement and I can deal with this major chore in the comfort of my own home. That in itself takes a load off my mind.

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>Book to self connections.

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>As kids learn to read the words and understand the content, we help them move beyond the basic levels of comprehension by making connections: Book to self, book to book, and book to world.

Sometimes that spills over into my pleasure reading. I was reading Revolutionary Road and as poor Frank Wheeler faced his desk at work I could envision my own. He had an inbox, an outbox, and a stack of papers he referred to as “…stack of things he couldn’t face.”

Mine are more of a to-do and a ta-dah! basket, with the anything in the ta-dah! basket heading directly to its destination. Sounds efficient, right? Well, maybe. But I still have a “…stack of things I can’t face…” sitting next to the computer. In addition, the actual to-do basket has to wait until the planning and grading are done.

Eventually, it all gets caught up, and I can go home and read again.

If I read enough Harry Potter, maybe I’ll find a wand that will help me vanish the stack of things I can’t face.

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>March Madness in a Teacher’s Life

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>It might be March if I spend more time answering parent emails than I do correcting and recording papers.

It must be March if the kids are so over-energetic and unfocused that we jump at any opportunity for a field trip, no matter where and what it is.

It must be March if teachers are drinking coffee and tea at staff meetings after school — with full caffeine!

It must be March if there’s an argument between teachers, principals, and playground staff over who needs to hold kids in for recess — because the kids behaved badly for all!

It must be March when a few low-seniority teachers actually feel lucky to be headed for lay-off.

It must be March when the secretary makes an extra pot of coffee in the office and it’s gone by first morning recess.

It must be March when teachers actually want to take a sick day.

It must be March when you hear muttering in the lounge about inventing a Ritalin salt-lick.

It might be March when people on the calendar committee deny they had anything to do with scheduling the later-than-usual Spring Break.

It must be March when classroom teachers start looking at crisis intervention training as a necessity, not an option.

It must be March when the specialists close their doors and say, “I’m glad I’m not a regular classroom teacher!”

And finally, it must be March when teachers start to plan how to get even on April Fools Day!

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>Ah, Friday. Friday!!

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What a week! I found myself honestly including clip art in almost all of my emails. When I realized which search terms I’d used, I had to laugh. It was semi-hysterical laughter, of course, with the underlying, “How long is it until spring break??”
To reschedule a parent-teacher conference involving four staff members: circus. It’s true: step right up! Take a look at the drama in the center ring as we try to meld four conference schedules and find one common time that fits the parent’s (narrow) request!
I responded to an email from a co-teacher on the subject of another parent who is so in denial that she has one foot in Egypt: scream.

After we finally got across the tightrope of scheduling by working out a time with three out of four teachers, followed by a time slot when two out of four can continue if needed: relief. This search term got me a batch of buildings and maps, though, thinking of “relief” as texture or architecture, so I tried relax. That did the trick.

In response to a coworker having a rough week: “Could be worse; we could be out of coffee!” Of course, the keyword was coffee.
I wonder what will turn up in the email today? Hm, maybe I really don’t want to know.

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>A rohs by any other name

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>The names have been changed to protect the innocent – and the outrageous.

I received the following note from a parent:

“It really bothers my daughter Preschusz that her name is misspelled so often. It should be P-R-E-S-C-H-U-S-Z, not PRECIOUS.”

What I wanted to write:

Dere Mrs. Preshus’ Mommie;

When your daughter was born and you created a new and inventive spelling of her name, you did her no favors. If it really bothers her to see her unusual name spelled in ways that are more or less unusual than the one on her birth certificate, you might want to consider counseling. After all, she is cursed, er, blessed with this unique name that will be with her the rest of her life. Did you think about this when you named her?

Did you think about the way she’d have to learn how to write her name in kindergarten, how you’d have to teach the teachers how to spell it so they could work with her?

Did you imagine she’d feel precious, er, special having to re-do her name constantly, justifying it to her peers?

Did you think about the bullies who would jump on her name like moths are drawn to a porch light?

How will she feel when little Paula down the road can find key rings and coin purses and bicycle license plates with her name emblazoned on them and poor little Prech, er, Presci, er, whatever-the-heck you called her can not?

How will your little one feel when she’s a teenager and trying to fit in, but her name makes her stand out instead?

When you named your little sweetie with that abominable spelling, you made sure she’ll be bothered again and again by seeing errors on her name. Does she know it’s your fault?

In conclusion, dear Mother of the Spelling from Hehll, I’m not so sure it’s little Precious who is bothered.
I think, very possibly, quite probably, this whole name spelling conflict might be not about her, but all about you.

Sincerely,
The Teacher (or is it TeeChere?) from the Black Lagoon — or rather, Lahguhn

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>Not exactly Dooced, but close.

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>An article in our association newsletter titled “Blogging and MySpace” discussed teachers in the blogging world.
“In 1969, the Supreme Court ruled that neither teachers nor students “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate…. School employees, however, do not have an absolute right to First Amendment protection.”
The writer went on to give examples of cases balancing the public’s right to know with workplace safety and privacy laws. Then it went on:
“Most importantly, teachers must understand that they are held to a higher moral standard than most other workers and should not engage in public speech which might jeopardize their status as role models. Teachers are held to a higher standard as role models. If you behave inappropriately away from school in a way that can affect your role model status at school, you may be subject to potential disciplinary review.”

This part got me thinking. I do not discuss my politics at school, but I do volunteer and contribute to campaigns. If current administration considered my political involvement inappropriate and a negative effect on my “role model status,” could that mean an end to my career? Could my letter to the editor in support of a candidate rub an administrator the wrong way?

When I’m most stressed about work, I might blog about it. I won’t share details, however, because it would violate an important part of my work: privacy and confidentiality. You’re more likely to read about my reaction to an event and my resulting stress level than the event itself.

We teachers know we’re role models, and we know our conduct is important. But could actions out of school really affect our jobs now, in the twenty-first century?

I’m not talking about criminal actions. To keep our children safe, certain people should not work in schools. I’m talking about human nature, balancing role model status with personal life.

We’re no longer in the days when a woman could not continue teaching while pregnant, when a teacher who dared to go to a bar would risk formal reprimand.

My blog is written under a pseudonym. Friends and family (including several coworkers) know who I am. Blogging intimate details about work, though? Constitutionally or otherwise, it would playing with fire.

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>Read Across America

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>Dr. Seuss’ birthday was March 2nd, and school across the USA choose this day to commemorate his genius and the fun of reading. In honor of the “Doc” and his work, here are my favorite facts about Ted Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss.

1. His first book was rejected by 27 publishers before someone was wise enough to pick it up. Take about patience! The man never gave up.
2. Dr. Suess worked hard. His book ideas that came by accident, such as Horton Lays an Egg, happened while he was at his desk brainstorming.
3. His books were not fluff; he incorporated serious issues into many of his creations.
4. The good Doctor questioned the status quo. When given a list of words he was to use in an Easy Reader, he realized the list was woefully inadequate and moved beyond it, creating the now classic The Cat in the Hat.
5. Above all, Dr. Seuss realized that reading should be fun. His stories inspired children to read and keep reading, to enjoy their books and improve their reading skills at the same time.

To really honor the man’s memory, I need to act on these concepts, not just restate them every year on March 2nd. In keeping with my own personal Action goal and with Read Across America, here goes.

1. It’s time to look at crafting another professional article. My last one was published over a year ago. I have several ideas floating around my head; it’s time to rough draft a few and settle on the best choice to complete and submit. In other news, I set a goal of adding to my poetry blog at least once a week. I’ve posted Haiku Friday most weeks, and occasionally added another. I missed when I was sick; well, there are priorities.
2. Frustration often stops me in my tracks. Frustration with student behavior, lack of resources, budget cuts, and more, all get in the way. I need to get back to good old-fashioned hard work, set aside what I can’t do, and focus on that which I can.
3. Important issues? I spent time and money (mostly time) on supporting candidates that I believed would make a difference. Now that they’re in office (Yes! We can!) I need to keep writing and calling and reminding them of their responsibilities to the constituents, the people who need them.
4. See #3.
5. The best motivator is often enjoyment. In this category, I’ll keep reading. I read for fun, for reviews, for my profession. I keep passing on magazines to my daughter so she can read the most fascinating pieces. Amigo and I will continue to sit out on our swing when the weather gets better, and sit on the couch and read for fun when the weather is cold. Tales of Beedle the Bard is waiting for us.

Happy Anniversary of your birth, Ted. Theodore Seuss Geisel, the man who revolutionized reading. We celebrate in the best way: by reading, reading, and reading more.

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>Random thoughts and Actual work emails

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>From the school secretary: “There is a package of peas in the ice pack freezer that has been there since Christmas, I am taking them home today if no one claims them and I’m going to cook them and I’m going to eat them – so there.”

Reply to all from the 4th grade teacher: “Ah, yes – visualize whirled peas. Peas on Earth.”

Reply to all from the ever-practical 6th grade teacher: “You can use that bag of peas when you run out of ice packs.”

This would have gotten way out of hand at my last school. Remember Mr. Thrifty the skeleton and the lost banana from the bulletin board? The emails went wild. I’m not sure if I miss that or if I’m relieved things are calmer here. I think I’ll reserve judgment.

Today is a school spirit day: Decades Day. We are to dress in our “favorite” duds from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, or 90s. Help? I did what I had to do: I reached into Husband’s closet. Deep into Husband’s closet. I found a wrinkled but classic polo shirt with the logo from an old (old!) Packer show, complete with the logo from Husband’s old employer before they changed network affiliations. I am dressing from the 80s (1989, to be specific) in a shirt announcing The Majik Show, starring quarterback Don Majkowski. Anyone remember him? No, don’t answer that. Unless you’re a Bears fan still complaining about the instant replay loss that coined the phrase, “After further review….” Never mind.

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