Tag Archives: teachers live at school

>Random blatherings in the trenches of teaching

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  • When more weeks are “the rough ones” and “weeks from hell” than good weeks, maybe it’s time to look at the big picture.
  • When the paperwork piles up and makes the everyday work too heavy, maybe it’s time to rethink the way of things.
  • When the headache starts on the way in to work Monday and diminishes after 5:00 on Fridays, it’s a sign that something is amiss.

Part of the stress was waiting for the local referendum, designed to help maintain the status quo. It didn’t pass. Now it’s time to cut, and there’s nothing “Extra” left to cut. My job is secure, but my workload will again increase.Astronomically, I might add. Or multiply, to be more accurate.

This year has been one of an unprecedented and unequaled workload. Class size was acceptable for my grade level at the mid-twenties, but students coming from SAGE classrooms (class size reduction) are used to sharing their teacher with fifteen students maximum. Teaching them the independent coping skills they need to survive in a regular-sized class is a challenge, and their parents rarely “get it” unless they have older children who went through the same transition already. Last year I felt like the kids started to get the hang of being fourth graders in January. This year? They’re still struggling.

My math class numbers close to 30. It would matter less if the kiddos were accustomed to standard class sizes, but they’re not (See SAGE class size, above). They’ve never had to wait long for attention from the teacher because their classes were half the size of this one. This year, kids with poor self-control are taking hours upon hours of my time, time I’d rather spend helping students who struggle academically.

That’s the story of the year. Self control, or the lack thereof, has driven my days. Kiddos who find misbehavior funny and encourage others to get in trouble. Parent who dress their children in t-shirts that announce “Funny how you think I’m listening” and other negative sentiments.

This economy is not one for switching careers or even jobs. But seriously, people, if the stress level continues, children will not get the education they need. And teachers, good ones, are just doing their best and finding it wanting.

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>When the going gets tough, teachers get tougher.

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>This is the longest stretch in the year for teachers and students alike. From January until early April, we have no meaningful breaks. The weather stinks. It’s either indoor recess for bitter cold or damp and mucky playground because it’s too warm. Behavior takes a downturn and gets worse, not better, until spring is in the air for real. First semester report cards go home, March parent-teacher conferences happen, and all is not well with the world.
I dread Monday mornings. I learned not to expect my class to have a successful Silent Sustained Reading on Monday mornings – for a number of reasons. My class usually learns keyboarding in the computer lab on Monday mornings, but that’s getting less and less successful, too. Last week the time that should have been 30 minutes of keyboarding ended up being less than 15, with me spending most of that time straightening out keyboard covers so they couldn’t cheat and redirecting kids who were distracted….over and over and over.
I reached for my goal word for the year and took action.
We will no longer go to the lab on Mondays. I will keep that time reserved for my class, but we won’t go back until they earn it. They need to learn keyboarding, it’s in our curriculum, but not on Monday mornings. I’ve added a lab time midweek when their attention is usually better focused.
I predict a bit of shock on their parts. I hope for a little positive peer pressure from those who do behave well. If they refuse to pay attention to those misbehaving, it may help. When they can successfully complete a Monday morning keyboarding session, the reward will be Monday morning Free Time in the lab.
It’ll take a while, but at least I feel like I’ve taken action.

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>A Friday too strange to be fiction

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>Amigo knew the answer to final jeopardy. Neither of his Wise Old Parents did. The category was Music Legends, and he knew that the People Magazine obit for Johnny Cash was titled “Fade to Black.”

The principal can take one look at me and ask, “What did (insert name here) do this time?” She knows my class so well that I can leave a note on her whiteboard saying, “Wardrobe Malfunction” and she’ll know what’s going on – or what had to be turned inside out.

Two kids kept telling me they had to go to the office because they got in trouble the day before. Problem was, they timed this strategically so that they’d miss music, then math. They never said, “Let’s go to the office at recess.” Uh-uh. Tricky? Not.

I was the only intermediate teacher gutsy enough (or crazy enough) to sign up for the Teacher Act of the talent show…until my neighbor in 6th grade joined me. Don’t tell me to break a leg, though; I’m very literal.

Husband woke up with a rather severe backache and tummy ache. He, um, managed to clear it up before leaving for work. He arrived at the station’s satellite office to find that the sewer was backed up and he needed to call Roto-Rooter to come in and fix it. If this isn’t coincidence, it’s mighty scary.

Honestly, it was the week from you-know-where. Monday is coming much too soon, and carries with it the trauma of a full moon! I hope the upcoming week brings relief – of one type or another.

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>I can’t post about that.

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>I can’t post about what a tough day I had at work, followed by another even tougher day. But I can post about coping, and how my ever-loving husband helps keep my spirits up.

I can’t post about the kid who made an obscene gesture before we’d been in school five minutes today and how he tried to lie about it. But I can tell you that the insulated coffee jug that Husband gave me for Christmas kept my beverage of choice warm on my desk while I filled out the discipline record form.
I can’t post about the frustrations with schedules and trying to get into Non-Violent Crisis Intervention training. I can tell you that when I emailed Husband and said, “It’s okay, I can take this during summer break or wait until next year” he replied within an hour telling me he’d be able to cover both training dates by working half days and meeting Amigo after school.
I can’t post about the kid that is the major reason for my eagerness to renew any and all crisis training. But I can tell you that when I came home and started up my laptop, Husband led me to the link for outtakes on the etrade baby commercials.
Laughter truly is the best medicine.
Chocolate comes a close second, though.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, I hope all of you have someone who builds you up when you’re down, who won’t let you drop out, even if it’s just a training session.

This post is entered in a contest sponsored by Parent Bloggers’ Network and Insure your Love, part of Life and Health InsuranceFoundation for Education (LIFE).

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>Action assessment

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>Action. I chose this for my Word of 2009 because I’m good at thinking, I’m good at espressing my ideas, but when it comes to implementation, many times I back off or freeze. One month into the year, how is Action coming along?

I realized that action doesn’t always have to mean activity. I took two sick days last week to see a doctor, rest, and heal. The action involved meant putting in for sick days, writing sub plans, and mentally letting go of my class for a couple of days. That’s easier said than done, made a little more accessible because my sub was a retired teacher from my building who knew my students well. I was sick enough not to mind if he couldn’t make it, but very, very relieved when I found out he could.

Action meant setting aside anything optional and focusing on the most important impending deadlines. Action meant instead of agonizing over time missed at school, I filled the vaporizer and slept on the couch to breathe in its moist air. Instead of jumping up to answer the telephone in mid-nap, I took my hearing aids out and let the answering machine screen all calls. Action meant that I actively pushed fluids, ate oranges and grapefruit, and didn’t feel guilt for not cleaning the house since I was home all day.

Action is beginning to mean choosing the actions, making my choices fit the time and fit the priorities in my life, whether home or work.

As for a goal word in the coming year, I think Action is going to be good for me.

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>What else can go wrong? No, don’t answer that.

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>I haven’t cooked all week, except for oatmeal, and that really doesn’t count. When I’m feeling sick, I know I have to feed the family, but I’m so tired I just want to collapse on the couch and nap instead of making meals. Our menu has looked something like this:
Monday – frozen pizza (with apple rhubarb crumble cake for dessert)
Tuesday – tuna casserole
Wednesday – Pizza Hut delivery
Thursday – toasted cheese with baked beans and canned fruit on the side
Friday – brats (under the broiler, the grill is buried in snow), a can of soup, and yogurt.

Breakfast was a little easier. Amigo isn’t fussy, for a teen. I threw oatmeal or toast at him each day and sent him off to school with a pocketful of cough drops so he wouldn’t feel left out of the cold (virus). Lunch? Leftover chicken soup on Monday and Tuesday, after the morning nap. The rest of the week, I tossed a PBJ and an orange in my lunch bag to eat at my desk while I caught up on plans and my gradebook.

In keeping with my neo-frugal outlook, I’ve made my own coffee many days and filled my mug from the office pot on others. I haven’t visited my favorite beverage kiosks once during the month of January. Oh, no, did I hear they’re closing stores? And it’s my fault for not providing stimulus? Never mind.

Friday, I thought I’d treat myself to a hazelnut at Jo to Go. Then I realized the temperature was a balmy 1 degree above zero. That matters, you see, because my minivan doesn’t like the cold weather. I can’t open the driver’s side window if the thermometer reads lower than 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Already a little down, I made myself a small batch of coffee while I was getting Amigo out the door. Then I realized I’d left my favorite insulated mug at school, and I felt mildly depressed. I filled my backup mug (of course I have a backup insulated travel mug, doesn’t everybody?) and headed out to school.

I sat down at my desk, checked email and reveled in the fact that there wasn’t much, and then started attacking the mess on my desk, when my neighbor teacher came in with a mocha latte from Starbucks! I burst out in a smile for the first time that morning, thanked her, and then told her about my forgotten mug which was still lost. She remembered seeing it in the library next to the computer printer. w00t! I zoomed down the hall to ask the library media specialist, and sure enough – there it was! Oh, the day was looking up now.

So for a short while, my desk sported three coffee cups. Yes, it did. Three.

And the day, although hopeful, did not improve. I remember muttering under my breath (to the same media specialist who’d found my mug earlier in the day) something about the desire to invent the Ritalin Salt Lick.
She didn’t let me hide under her desk, but she did laugh out loud and chase my kids into line so I could take them back to class. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: if I have a rough day, I don’t want to have it anywhere else.

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>Little things worry me.

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>La Petite has been coughing a little deeper and a little worse each day. Today she had a slight fever. What if she’s getting bronchitis again? The health center on campus probably won’t be open until classes start three days from now.

Amigo also has a stuffy nose and cough. He’s complaining that one ear is plugged up now, but doesn’t hurt – yet. I sense an ear infection coming.

Husband has a week of vacation days coming up so he can deal with Amigo’s odd schedule during the high school’s final exam week. Husband’s parents have assumed that he’s available all week to do chores and run errands for them. The sandwich generation rears its ugly head yet again.

Several meetings are on the calendar at my school next week, and only a few look to be really useful. Most are more likely to be necessary evils: the kind I need to attend to create a paper trail, but won’t have a direct impact on helping kids.

La Petite’s medicine refill came in the mail 1 1/2 hour after she left. She put off getting it refilled until the last minute. I’ll mail it to her, but geez. A few days earlier would have made a big difference.

Amigo was oppositional and outspoken and obnoxious this morning. Feeling under the weather? Upset that his sister was leaving? Coming down from his birthday celebration? Resisting returning to routine after two days off from school? Who knows? Could be all of the above.

Husband’s workload is increasing as his employer joins the trend of budget cuts and layoffs. No one is immune. My “raise” is eaten up by increasing premiums. I should feel grateful to be working, but it’s difficult to find motivation as the workload grows.

My hearing aid battery just died. I’ll go get a new one, and then I’ll see if I can schedule a new appt. for cleaning and service. Sigh…another item on the calendar.

Speaking of cleaning and service, my minivan doesn’t like the bitter cold we’ve had lately. The driver’s side window doesn’t go down when it’s below 10 degrees F., so I can’t indulge in simple pleasures like drive-up ATMs or drive-through coffees. More important, though, is the fact that this window mechanism needs repair. We’re putting it off until spring when cash flow is a little more fluid.

No wonder I’m feeling a little bit down. By themselves, each one of these items would be a light weight, easily hefted and handled. Add them together, however, and the weight of the world is on my shoulders.

Or maybe it’s just PMS. Pass the chocolate!

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>Action!

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>That’s the word.
Thought, creativity, ideas: those are the easy parts. Taking a deep breath and putting the ideas into action is much, much harder. That’s what I need to do.
I was reading a column on Work it Mom about doing a closet “cleanse.” There are several ways to approach this, and my closet needs a major cleanse. So does Amigo’s. La Petite’s probably does, too, but none of the others matter in the Action goal: just mine. Action means I’ll choose a plan for cleaning the closet, purging it of clothes I no longer wear, and organizing what’s left. When? I don’t know, but that’s just one example.
We had a surprise (sort of) day off from school a few days ago, and I took part of the day to clean the kitchen, and I mean really cleaned it. Scrubbed the stove, cleaned a few refrigerator shelves, rearranged part of the tiny counter space to make snack baskets and phone chargers more accessible. I baked bread and then cleaned the breadmaker inside and out. I wish I had a cover for it so it wouldn’t get so dusty – wait! Action! I used a pretty towel to cover it. It’s a good temporary fix, a frugal choice (no $ spent), and it’ll keep the breadmaker cleaner between uses.
I hope to have more days like this, days when I can take on a small project and finish it. Each time I take action on something at home or at school, I can feel successful.
So here goes, the word for 2009: Lights, Camera, Action!!

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>To-Do list fights with Ta-Dah!! list

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>Who needs an inbox and an outbox? I have to-do and ta-dah. Sing that last one: Ta-Dah! Here’s the set from mid-day Sunday: let’s see which side wins.

Accomplishments for the day so far

  • made coffee
  • cleaned kitchen
  • ran dishwasher
  • washed two loads of laundry
  • dried four loads of laundry (including two that were washed last night, hung on drying racks overnight. Jeans and sweats work great that way)
  • folded five loads of laundry (the socks and underwear were already out of the dryer last night. they don’t wrinkle, so I left them overnight)
  • Read the Sunday newspaper (yes, even a working mama deserves a simple pleasure)
  • Ate a grapefruit (it’s an investment in my health. Of course that goes on the list!)
  • Are you ready for this? The major accomplishment for the morning:
  • I took the ornaments off the tree and put them in storage.
    Diced veggies and thawed other ingredients to put a turkey soup in the crockpot.
  • Made lunch for Husband and me and Amigo while La Petite slept in
  • Cleared Christmas decor from the mantel and around the house, sorted it into “keep” and “donate” and “throw away,” stored the “keep” boxes.
  • Replaced Christmas decorations with snowmen for January!
  • Helped Amigo with his homework
  • voted for the Packer in the Click for Cans contest

I think I need to sit down and take a break with some playoff football, a Diet Coke, and laptop time.

Yet To-do

  • correct spelling tests (abbreviations)
  • correct math tests (mid-chapter, multiplication and division)
  • check penmanship papers
  • add barley to soup, determine side dishes, prepare to serve supper

I must add this: Husband, noticing my progress in getting the ornaments down, took off the lights, stored them, and then dragged the tree outside. He put the tree stand in the basement and even (yes, honestly, he did) vacuumed all the pine needles and put the furniture back in its regular place. Isn’t he a gem?

Hmmm. I’m a pro at rationalization. But even without rationalizing my excuses for doing housework before schoolwork, this looks pretty darn good. No guilt: I’ve accomplished plenty, and the rest will get done, too.

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