Current/Recent Reading List

21 August 2006

Enough with the happy stuff

Remember that mellow vibe I had going on Friday? Gone.

It seems like there is always at least one day, during those first few teacher workdays, when, for whatever reason, I feel like the lamb being led to slaughter. The causes can vary - maybe it is the first look at the class rolls, maybe it is the principal messing with your schedule at the last minute, or maybe it is just calculating what needs to be done vs. how much time there is to do it. In any case, I’ve lost a little of that loving feeling today.

First, and most importantly, only our new literature books have made it to our school, and not our new grammar books, or our new teacher’s resource boxes. Aside from the obvious reason this is distressing, I was really looking forward to playing with the cool desktop planning calendars, test generators, etc. For now at least, looks I’ll be planning things out with the same old spreadsheets and lesson plan books. How 90’s.

Then, I see that even though I requested fewer students in my yearbook classes, because I simply don’t have enough for even the usual 16-17 kids to do, I’ve actually been given over twenty in that class for both semesters. Translated: more babysitting, less getting the book done on time.

Just to throw in one more bummer, a reliable source told me (and no, I didn’t ask for this info.) that one of my favorite students from last year, who is still very young, is apparently quite “physically active” with her older boyfriend. And I don’t mean they go rock climbing with each other on the weekends. This is not exactly a shock, but one of those things I would still rather not have had confirmed. I know the statistics, but forewarned doesn’t always mean forearmed against the sinking feeling reality can present to you.

So yeah, I’m whining today.

No comments: