I just busted out the ole' day planner to schedule my last 3 weeks of English 9 - I am going to kick their asses with work, here - and realized that the next day I spend without some type of work-related, time-consuming obligation is June 17th, 2 weeks from Sunday. 20 straight days of work? New record, anyone?
Grades are due tomorrow, so of course I got 3,000 assignments today. It actually makes my stomach hurt to look at all of them, even though I am grading in the most minimal way possible. I think I'm starting to understand why people hire wedding planners. Or maybe I'm not, because selfishly I can't imagine people in other professions feeling as swamped as I do right now.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
mmmm. peppery.
Highlights of my day:
I breathed pepper spray for the first time! And it wasn’t even a fight, just some kids goofing around in the hallway connecting my classroom to the rest of the school (naturally.) I stepped in to head to the restroom and got a lungful. It’s like the first time you’re in an earthquake; despite your lack of prior experience, you immediately know exactly what is going on. It really feels like pepper, if that makes sense, and then your eyes water, and you cough violently, and later you get a headache. Or maybe that’s from the graffiti remover I used this morning – who can really say.
One of the other SLC’s leads is attempting to take a room in our rotation. This is incredibly freaking unacceptable. I am hoping it is resolved before I have to scream and yell about it.
Highlights from ESL 4 translations of Romeo and Juliet:
SAMPSON: No, sir, I do not talk smack at you, sir, but I do talk smack, sir.
ROMEO: Is she a Capulet? Oh dear, my life is a mess.
I breathed pepper spray for the first time! And it wasn’t even a fight, just some kids goofing around in the hallway connecting my classroom to the rest of the school (naturally.) I stepped in to head to the restroom and got a lungful. It’s like the first time you’re in an earthquake; despite your lack of prior experience, you immediately know exactly what is going on. It really feels like pepper, if that makes sense, and then your eyes water, and you cough violently, and later you get a headache. Or maybe that’s from the graffiti remover I used this morning – who can really say.
One of the other SLC’s leads is attempting to take a room in our rotation. This is incredibly freaking unacceptable. I am hoping it is resolved before I have to scream and yell about it.
Highlights from ESL 4 translations of Romeo and Juliet:
SAMPSON: No, sir, I do not talk smack at you, sir, but I do talk smack, sir.
ROMEO: Is she a Capulet? Oh dear, my life is a mess.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Do you know the times?
Sometimes you catch yourself thinking thoughts, especially when they are the first ones of the day, that make you reconsider your career choice and/or life path thus far. Thoughts like,
Oh good! We have toilet paper today.
Other times your students write things that are so unintentionally charming and/or hilarious you write them on 3x5 cards and show them to everyone you see that day.
On Romeo’s mental state and motivations:
Romeo is feeling depressed because he is in love with a girl that he will never be able to date or marry because she is a noun.
On asking people if they believe in true love:
I guess that the answer was different depending on which or what age they were. Like little kids think that love is gross. And also that little kids are gross.
Then there are the times when they say things so completely idiotic that you just stare at them, aghast.
After a really rough week with my 9th grade class, during which almost no headway was made in Romeo and Juliet, I gave them a brief talk about why they needed to learn this play: It’s one of the most famous in Western literature; it’s full of evocative, poetic language that will help us with our own writing; it deals with huge themes that help us to examine humanity; and last of all, every ninth grader in the known universe reads this play, and when you go out into the world, you will want to know what other ninth graders assume is base knowledge. My Prettiest Girl, by which I mean the one who has most consciously made the decision to be a Pretty Girl, says in her snottiest, most dismissive tone,
Well, what if we’re already in the tenth grade?
Touché!
Then today, I busted my kids betting on poker after the state test. They were pissed when I took their cards, and I explained (calmly and quietly, I might add) that this was not just my rule, but the school’s, and the government’s, when not of age and in a casino. And this kid says, in his best Gotcha! voice,
But I’m not legal! I don't have papers; I don’t have to follow your rules!
Yeah, buddy. Good luck with that.
Oh good! We have toilet paper today.
Other times your students write things that are so unintentionally charming and/or hilarious you write them on 3x5 cards and show them to everyone you see that day.
On Romeo’s mental state and motivations:
Romeo is feeling depressed because he is in love with a girl that he will never be able to date or marry because she is a noun.
On asking people if they believe in true love:
I guess that the answer was different depending on which or what age they were. Like little kids think that love is gross. And also that little kids are gross.
Then there are the times when they say things so completely idiotic that you just stare at them, aghast.
After a really rough week with my 9th grade class, during which almost no headway was made in Romeo and Juliet, I gave them a brief talk about why they needed to learn this play: It’s one of the most famous in Western literature; it’s full of evocative, poetic language that will help us with our own writing; it deals with huge themes that help us to examine humanity; and last of all, every ninth grader in the known universe reads this play, and when you go out into the world, you will want to know what other ninth graders assume is base knowledge. My Prettiest Girl, by which I mean the one who has most consciously made the decision to be a Pretty Girl, says in her snottiest, most dismissive tone,
Well, what if we’re already in the tenth grade?
Touché!
Then today, I busted my kids betting on poker after the state test. They were pissed when I took their cards, and I explained (calmly and quietly, I might add) that this was not just my rule, but the school’s, and the government’s, when not of age and in a casino. And this kid says, in his best Gotcha! voice,
But I’m not legal! I don't have papers; I don’t have to follow your rules!
Yeah, buddy. Good luck with that.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Master of Scheduling.
First off, I've decided I need to do something about how infrequently I post. I find that I tend to shy away from posting because it seems like it's going to eat up a whole bunch of time. And usually, it does. So, short and sweet and if not everything gets covered, who is going to be the wiser?
Bullet points!
-I've been back at work for about three weeks now, three weeks of rock n' roll Romeo and Juliet action. Tonight is the first in about 2 weeks that I left school without attending any other obligation from the three-thirty-to-five-thirty slot. I made the mistake of showing up for the master scheduling info session - the master being the schoolwide course schedule of what's being taught, when, and by whom - and ended up programming the whole damn thing for my small learning community, which necessitated a lot of out-of-classroom time and a reevaluation of the science chair, who is honestly a huge ass, but who did teach me to do the master and then check it for me to make sure I hadn't screwed it up too royally.
-Also, I've been doing hiring stuff. This goes hand-in-hand, really, since I'm the only one who knows how many new positions my SLC is opening (three) and who's leaving (three or four more) and all that sort of thing. We haven't hired anyone yet, but our need is dire and it looks like we may eventually have to go with the hated Program. Ugh. I have made it known that no one will be hired from The Program unless I am present at the interview and give my approval, but it's not like anyone has been going to the rest of the hiring things, so I am probably not in any danger there.
-Finally, FINALLY, I am able to really work. That sounds funny but I don't know how else to explain it. My incredibly draining 3rd period class leaves, and instead of curling up on the couch during 4th and reading a book or wishing it would all go away or eating mini Twix and pretending I'm not there, I can actually plan, or make handouts, or grade. And my plans make sense now. They're not just "Hey! Let's do this now, maybe!" Let the record show that I am not the shittiest teacher The Program has ever had, and it has taken me two years just to get here. To be fair, if I had always thought I would leave after two years I might have rushed things along, and put off my mental collapse for a later a-splosion. But the earthquake method - lots of little shakes to release the tension - seems to have worked well, and I am feeling really good right now, like I might someday get to be a really good teacher, if I do not murder my entire 3rd period and have to flee the country in the meantime.
-This week is state testing. YAY! or not. I'll go with not. I have my second period ALL DAY tomorrow - from 7:35 to a mercifully early 2:11. We are going to have loads of fun, us and our state-issued bubble sheets.
-Crazy upcoming weekend alert: Friday is prom and crazy teacher after-prom party (possibly at a hotel if assman science chair's new fiance's brother, who is a hotel manager, hooks us up), and then Saturday a couple of us drive up and spend a few days in the bay. Wooooooot.
-My ESL students are reading Romeo and Juliet! And they are getting it! Woooooooooot x 1000. Jackpot, I win the internets.
-Also, I got into my MA program, which starts in September. So I am about to be a Master of Education as well. Buahaha.
Bullet points!
-I've been back at work for about three weeks now, three weeks of rock n' roll Romeo and Juliet action. Tonight is the first in about 2 weeks that I left school without attending any other obligation from the three-thirty-to-five-thirty slot. I made the mistake of showing up for the master scheduling info session - the master being the schoolwide course schedule of what's being taught, when, and by whom - and ended up programming the whole damn thing for my small learning community, which necessitated a lot of out-of-classroom time and a reevaluation of the science chair, who is honestly a huge ass, but who did teach me to do the master and then check it for me to make sure I hadn't screwed it up too royally.
-Also, I've been doing hiring stuff. This goes hand-in-hand, really, since I'm the only one who knows how many new positions my SLC is opening (three) and who's leaving (three or four more) and all that sort of thing. We haven't hired anyone yet, but our need is dire and it looks like we may eventually have to go with the hated Program. Ugh. I have made it known that no one will be hired from The Program unless I am present at the interview and give my approval, but it's not like anyone has been going to the rest of the hiring things, so I am probably not in any danger there.
-Finally, FINALLY, I am able to really work. That sounds funny but I don't know how else to explain it. My incredibly draining 3rd period class leaves, and instead of curling up on the couch during 4th and reading a book or wishing it would all go away or eating mini Twix and pretending I'm not there, I can actually plan, or make handouts, or grade. And my plans make sense now. They're not just "Hey! Let's do this now, maybe!" Let the record show that I am not the shittiest teacher The Program has ever had, and it has taken me two years just to get here. To be fair, if I had always thought I would leave after two years I might have rushed things along, and put off my mental collapse for a later a-splosion. But the earthquake method - lots of little shakes to release the tension - seems to have worked well, and I am feeling really good right now, like I might someday get to be a really good teacher, if I do not murder my entire 3rd period and have to flee the country in the meantime.
-This week is state testing. YAY! or not. I'll go with not. I have my second period ALL DAY tomorrow - from 7:35 to a mercifully early 2:11. We are going to have loads of fun, us and our state-issued bubble sheets.
-Crazy upcoming weekend alert: Friday is prom and crazy teacher after-prom party (possibly at a hotel if assman science chair's new fiance's brother, who is a hotel manager, hooks us up), and then Saturday a couple of us drive up and spend a few days in the bay. Wooooooot.
-My ESL students are reading Romeo and Juliet! And they are getting it! Woooooooooot x 1000. Jackpot, I win the internets.
-Also, I got into my MA program, which starts in September. So I am about to be a Master of Education as well. Buahaha.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
