First Day Back

I need to start off by saying I was getting ready for bed when I remembered I hadn't written today. For the past 2 hours I have been just wasting time online with funny videos, checking out music (specifically "Enjoy Every Sandwich" a tribute to Warren Zevon), playing stupid FaceBook games. But also sending messages to friends I haven't communicated with (no, FaceBook posts do NOT count as communication), which is a positive step. Another positive step is coming back to the computer to do a little writing.

I was optimistic about today - no students, probably a meeting or two, get back in the swing with the other teachers, etc. The first hour was fine - updated my weekly lessons, did a couple of log sheets (one for bathroom breaks - turns out one of my other teachers had read the same article, so we shared!). Then my next-door-teacher asked if the principal had talked to me yet about the move. *context* When I was hired, I replaced the language arts teacher, but the plan was to shuffle most of the teachers in the grade to their preferred subject. I would get math, the science teacher would move to language arts, the math teacher would take over reinforcement. This would take place once the grading period ended. So I taught language arts for a couple of weeks. Near the end of this, the school got three smartboards, and the order went out to install them in the middle school math classrooms. Oopsy - the 6th grade board went into the classroom next to me instead of my room. You would think this would be a simple fix - either move the board or move the teacher. Well, my next-door-teacher basically refused to move rooms. I can't say she is a pleasant person; tough to talk to, doesn't share things that I needed to know, purchases bulk snacks with her own money and re-sells them to students at a large profit, causing chaos and poor choices among students. *end/context*

Of course, I know nothing about the move, but soon I am asked by the assistant principal if the principal has spoken to me - and he makes a kind of criss-cross gesture toward the two rooms. Eventually I get the official word, I am moving rooms so I can have access to the smartboard (which, by the way, that teacher never used. Reinforcement is basically putting kids on a language arts application on laptops, with math a second priority. The teacher does not actually teach, she doesn't give grades on report cards, etc.). I start packing, clear out the desk, all that stuff. Around 1pm the teacher makes her big entrance, with lots of loud complaining about how it should have been handled, how we should have been informed before the break (no arguing there, I agree with that), how she is keeping her desk and it will just have to be moved next door. Mind you, I have been ready to shift things for over 2 hours. The day was scheduled to run from 8am-2pm, and now I am rushing in the last hour to move things, help her move things (she refused offers of help hours earlier). It all got moved, but none of my things are back on the walls, I am not entirely happy with the desk configurations, and students are going to be stunned, I am sure.

I have an hour in my normal routine prior to students arriving, then I have my normal planning period, plus I got the week's worth of copying done today, so I will work out the minor details in the morning. Yep, change is good. Now I have to bring myself up to speed with this smartboard, having never used one before. I have the theory, not the technique, but it is going to make life a WHOLE lot easier, and in the long run benefit the students,which is the name of the game.

To balance my gruff neighbor, there is a fifth grade teacher who is my salvation. Her son is one of my students, and she teaches math as well. In our meeting, going over ThinkLink test scores (a quarterly practice test on the computer to practice test-taking and comprehension of the TCAP concepts), she was hugely supportive of me as I looked at my students' dismal scores. She had most of mine last year, knows it is the clay and not the potter that is at fault, and isn't shy about telling me so. She is always upbeat and great (as is most of her grade team), and she is giving me confidence, which is the one thing I usually need most.

Now, to bed. Actually reading 3 different books: the aforementioned Zevon bio, the final Spenser novel by Robert B. Parker (final since the author died), and my current entry in Kathy Reichs' series, on which the Fox-TV series Bones is based. The books are fun, quick to read, and we have the full set, so I don't have to go hunt for the next when I finish one. This is the way I used to read - a book in several different places around the house, just pick up the closest one. The Parker is a one-week book, so it is top priority.