Category Archives: Work

Summer “Vacation”

I made it through my first year at my “new” school!

I feel like “new” should be in quotes since it isn’t fully “new” anymore.

But yeah, I’m done…it’s over, and I could not be more excited to now have the summer “off”.

Yup, that also deserved quotes, all of my fellow educators know why.

Because we’re never really off.  There is just a time where we aren’t required to go to our buildings to work but typically still do work at home or at other locations off-site.

Why am I saying this?

Mostly, because I’m kind of tired of the misconception that educators have the “best jobs ever” because we “get to have three months off every year”.  Or the comments of; “man I wish I could get three months off”.

NO EDUCATOR IS EVER FULLY OFF!

Now, I do preface by saying that educators schedules are a bit more flexible than someone who works in an office all day or a doctor or a lawyer; I fully admit that. However, most people don’t pick their professions based on their schedules or based on time off; you pick it because it’s the profession that speaks to you or because you feel compelled to do that work.

Educators feel compelled to do the work they are doing (most anyway, as with any profession).  We happen to get a bit more of a flexible schedule as a result; but guess what?  Most of us are still working in that off time.

Whether it’s grading papers in the evening or creating lesson plans on the long weekends.  Maybe it’s creating new curriculum in July in a district office with some of your colleagues with other schools or creating/working on school-wide events that will be held throughout the year.  It could be that you’re in your classroom in July analyzing data that you collected from the previous year and figuring out how to implement this information and improve your teaching or your methods for the next year for a better result.  Hell, perhaps you do have to go to school and meet with a student and their parents to talk about something that will impact them in the upcoming school year and you need to figure out how to deal with it before he/she walks back in the building on the first day.

Summer break doesn’t mean we’re all off to sit on the beach for two months with margaritas.  It just means we aren’t, likely, directly dealing with students in that time.

There is so much that an educator does in a typical day involving direct contact with students that so many of us need this time off to catch up on the mountains of paperwork and lesson plans and goals and outcomes that get pushed to the wayside out of necessity. All of that work winds up getting done during our “summer vacation”.

Personally, just this summer I’m already going to be in the building more often than not. I have testing to do with students, meetings to prep for, a new coworker to train, programs to plan for, etc.  Devon is also going to be at work quite a bit; he has trainings to do for his new school, new curriculum to learn and map out, a whole new year of lesson plans to make up (the perk of having been teaching the same material for the past few years was that he could just use the same lessons but adapt them each year).

I understand that unless you’re an educator you really don’t know all of this behind the scenes stuff; but it can get frustrating to hear that we have it “so easy” or that we’re “so lucky” to be able to have so much time off.  It can feel belittling of our profession and in a country where our profession is already held in a pretty low regard; it’s just disappointing.

I try really hard to not use this place as a soap box, but sometimes there are moments where I feel like I need a platform to just say this kind of thing and then I remember; hey I have a blog.

So, if this sort of content is offensive, I apologize, but then again this is my space to say what I need to; so while I’m sorry if I offended you I can’t promise that I won’t get up on a soap box again if the mood strikes.

 

Teacher Appreciation Week

Last night I went to visit some of my girls from my old school for their spring recital.  For a few of them, it’s their last recital since they are graduating next month.

Since one of the graduates went out of her way to invite me, there was no way I was going to miss it.

I love seeing them; even if it means navigating Baltimore City at night, I will go to anything they invite me to.

I walked in about five minutes after the recital started so a lot of them saw me come in but they have enough decency to stay in their seats.  So when the show ended, all of them just bombarded me and my friend (who was also a teacher in my old school); hugging and yelling and shrieking, etc.  It was a spectacle.

We stayed for a good hour after the show just talking to the girls, catching up with them, finding out what was going on in their lives.  And then I drove home and it made me realize how much I missed them.

I mean, obviously our school is gone so there is no going back.  And I do really like the school I am at now.  But those girls……they are irreplaceable to me.

My Counseling Chair said to me awhile ago that my heart isn’t fully here at our school yet and she understands that it may not be for awhile.  After last night, I wholeheartedly agree with that,  I love my new school and the students are great, but these girls last night are special to me.  And for as long as they are still in school, they will be. I can’t change that fact.

I made this status on Facebook last night:

Some people have questioned why I stay in private school when I could “easily” go into a public school system.

I sometimes wonder the same.

But tonight, I got to see some of my Keough girls perform their spring concert at their new school. And while all of them caused a raucous at the end of the show to see me; there was one of my former students who started sobbing the second she saw me. I asked her why she was crying; all she could say was “I miss you; I didn’t know you were going to be here”.

I feel lucky that I still get to see them from time to time. And even if it means navigating the city at night; I will go to anything they invite me to.

They are part of the reason I stay.

I was also really fortunate this year to not only have a new position when I needed one but to find a school that welcomed me so openly and with so much love. In some ways I already feel like I’ve been there for years.

I’m not saying you don’t form relationships in public schools; hell I’m a product of public schools; I’ll never knock them.

But all these people are why I stay in private schools.

At this point, hell would probably have to freeze over for me to go public.

It’s currently Teacher Appreciation Week and most educators will tell you; they still don’t often feel appreciated even during this week.

Most will also tell you I’m not a teacher, so I’m fully in this week; which is true, though most lump me into the teacher category anyway.

But, last night, having all of my former students around me; even though they were loud as hell and causing a scene as the show ended, happy to see me, telling me everything about them that I’ve missed – that’s the best gift I could have received for Teacher Appreciation Week.

This is always a rough time of the year; for most of us we’re in the home stretch but the finish line seems so far away.  If you’re a teacher, administrator, counselor, etc; we’re almost done for the year.  Just remember why you’re doing this; the lives you’re helping even if you aren’t seeing it as much as you would like, and that summer is almost here.

To all of my fellow educators, I appreciate all of you so much and I hope these last few weeks are easy for you.

School Safety

I don’t put a lot out about political beliefs or ideals here because it’s not really what this space is about.

But being an educator, all of these school shootings and school safety as a whole is a big concern for me.  And not just for my safety, for Devon’s safety, for all of my friends’ safety that are also educators, for my friends with children that have to go to school scared/wondering if something will happen, for all of the children that have had to deal with this first hand, especially all of the Parkland community that is dealing with a tragedy I can’t even begin to imagine.

It’s become such a “normal” way of life here and it’s horrible.  Our kids deserve better. Our educators deserve better.

I know people are scared and a lot of people are acting out of fear.  There are a lot of issues that need to be addressed; mental health and gun accessibility are just a couple of the bigger ones.  I don’t have answers to them and I’m not sure our current administration does either.  Some of their ideas are terrifying, though.

I am an educator.  I come in to work everyday to care for, educate, and protect our students.  I don’t need a gun in my office to do that.  The day I do, is the day I don’t do this job anymore.

I found this quote/meme last night that sums a lot of the thoughts I have floating around in my head right now that I can’t seem to formulate on my own:

meme

Like I said, I don’t have answers; there isn’t anyone who has all the answers.  There isn’t even one big blanket answer to all of this.

I just know that arming teachers isn’t the answer.  Between the fact that you would lose half of the educators in this country, because most of us feel as I do and refuse to be armed in class, to the fact that you’re putting a weapon in every room.  Sure it may be “locked up” but if someone wants it; they’re going to get it by any means necessary.

This system is broken; this country is broken and I don’t know how to fix it.  But I will keep trying to protect my students every day with what I have – but I will never do it with a weapon.

New School Update

A few of you have been asking how my the new school year has been going.

Generally; pretty damn good.

Am I exhausted? Yes.

Am I running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off? Yes

Has my work load increased ten-fold? Yes

Do I love it? Yes.

You kind of always walk a line of exhaustion when you’re an educator.  I’d love to say it gets easier then longer you do this, but I’d be lying to you, and I don’t wanna do that.

Read More