Disgusted

I'm sick of my job. This isn't teaching, it's pushing paper and CYA. Someone else did something which generated a huge amount of paperwork for me, and I've spent countless hours trying to get it done in a way that doesn't get us sued. It doesn't happen overnight, especially when the other participants in the process refuse to participate. It's bad enough I have to lie in the paperwork about why these things are going on. I'm not also going to lie and say I've talked to people when I didn't. Hopefully, this stuff won't be questioned, because if it is, I'll have to fall back on the Nuremberg defense: I was following orders. Meanwhile, I'm catching flack because it wasn't done on someone else's timetable. What any of it has to do with teaching, I don't know. I changes nothing in the classroom. We're drowning in this crap and I, for one, have no wish to continue in this job. It's time to shift into another area of teaching.

Seemed like a good idea at the time...

3 workshops in 3 weeks, two of them back to back. I'm just too damn old to do this to myself. The first one was a fluke; I looked it up when some other plans changed, and was able to register. 3 days of water studies, with fild trips. Fun, lots of new materials. Then the following Monday, an Ecology workshop, followed immediately by my field work. Literally left one to drive to the other. I swear, I hope I never do that again. It's bad enough I have a few other things coming up, but at least there's nothing till late next week. A chance to catch up on sleep, empty the fridge and clean house. Finally. And get in some reading, for fun.

The Games Begin

Well, this first week of my 'summer vacation' will be partly spent in a 3-day water and pollution workshop. The cool part? A float trip down the river. Next week, another workshop, 5 days long, then I head east for my fieldwork time. Hopefully, I'll be acclimated to the heat by then. So far it's unbearable. But, maybe it wouldn't seem so bad if we hadn't just spent a couple of weeks in a cold and damp pattern. Right now, though, I'm feeling like those people in Seattle last week who were suffering from the record highs of 80-something.

All over but the shouting

This won't be as chatty as my first attempt to post. My connection went out before it posted.
The weekend was a washout, by the way. Rain, and more rain. It's still raining.

This is "post-planning". Those teacher work/cleanup days after the kids go home. Lots of administrivia that could be done sooner, but they make us stay because we have a contract and they aren't letting us go home one second before the contract says. Some people are moving their stuff to new rooms, others to new schools. I got lucky and didn't have to move. Get to stay put. For what it's worth. It's not clear yet how much time I'll actually spend in this room, since most of my day looks to be spent in someone else's room. But that's okay. My stuff is unpacked and put away, the room will be as clean as I can make it before I go, and we'll see what the new school year brings.

Meanwhile, there is the summer. Whoever it was that said we get "summers off" should be slapped. I'm always busy with classes, workshops and field work. Can't call it "off". There's a little down time, built in there, but not much. This whole month coming up is pretty packed with activity. A chance to exercise the noggin before it turns to mush.

Well, the original version of this was very much from my soapbox, but having done the ranting once, I don't feel the need to repeat it. Guess I'll save it for tomorrow. There'll be more, I'm sure.

Another day...

Well, Memorial Day weekend here in the south looks like a wash at this point. Literally. It's raining, has been on and off since late this morning. Bummer. I was really looking forward to just a little fun. Nothing special, but something different. Oh, well. There's always tomorrow.

Or, I can settle in reading. Picked up The Quality School Teacher by William Glasser. Goodwill had it for less than a dollar. Somewhere around here I have his book on Control Theory that I had started way back when. Maybe this will give me some ideas. Can't hurt. If not, I also got Babi Yar. I really am a bookworm. Got another bunch of books yesterday, too.

Thanks, Jodi, for the good wishes about my interview coming up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Adventures in teaching

I'm a teacher, mid 30s. This is a southern state, where we start and end school early. I'm not from here, originally. There are things I'm still getting used to. Like the fact that anything under the sun is more important than schoolwork. Lke weeknight church activities or sports. It's amazing to see how big the sports section of the newspaper is. It's a big deal when there's no sports report on the late news. I've only seen that happen once.

Trying to close out the school year. It didn't come soon enough for me. This has been a tough one. Things are changing, people are tired, and it just isn't quite the same place it was when I came here a few years ago. I'm starting to think about moving on, and I'm not the only one.

Had lots of help in putting my stuff away. There was some confusion about moving or not moving to a different classroom. In the end, I get to stay put for a change. And, I finally got some of my stuff halfway organized. It was all still a jumbled mess from last summer. Haven't decided yet whether or when to take some of the extra stuff and put it in storage. I hate to get rid of anything, being a pack rat. Besides, there's no telling where I'll end up in a year or two. Or what I'll be teaching here, for that matter. I might need the non-science materials. Don't want to have to repurchase/recreate all that crap.

Still waiting for the final word on my fall schedule. It would be nice to know what I'll be teaching so that I can take some time to prepare. At least I think so. Apparently I don't have much company, since I never know what I'll be teaching until I get back to work. Sometimes school starts and it's still changing. Can you picture a doctor not knowing which department he'll be working in until he walks in for the first day on the job? Or a cop not knowing where he'll be on patrol until he gets into the car?

I'm extremely ready to be done and out, and trying very hard to not be too down on the whole experience of this year. I want to be optimistic about what's coming. And there's some good stuff coming. Too bad it's not at the school. Some really cool workshops coming up that I'll enjoy. A meeting in Florida. A workshop and some ocean studies on the west coast later on. Funny how all of the really good stuff is not happening at the school.

There were some really fun things we did. Unfortunately, I was so stressed for a lot of the time that I couldn't really enjoy it and don't quite remember it all. Plus, not having the time/energy to really figure out good stuff to do. Time, because all the 'planning' time gets eaten up with meetings, conferences, paperwork, discipline, etc. Energy because at the end of the day, who wants to deal with any more of that crap?

I have my volunteer interview coming up. Really hope it goes well. It would be nice to have something outside of school to think about at the end of the day/week.