You know when you wake up in the morning, and NOTHING seems to go right? You know how your alarm gets messed up, your phone resets, and you barely make it out of bed? How when you drop your bag before you even get out the door, and then bend over to get it, something falls out of your other bag? That's how you know it's going to be one of those days...

So you really shouldn't be surprised when you stop short to avoid hitting a little girl who has darted out into the street with nary a glance one way or the other and your co-worker slams into the back of your car so hard, you are just now starting to feel the effects... Whiplash???

And you should be even LESS surprised when the principal's secretary asks if you are ready for that meeting today. What meeting? You are CONFUSED! Oh, the ARIS meeting, from 1-4. I'm not going to any meeting, you say with utter confusion. When you get upstairs and she calls you to tell you that THEY signed you up for this meeting without asking or even telling you, and that you likely will have to go, you SHOULD be even less surprised.

But wait, you're forgetting the welcome you got when you opened your LOCKED door to find 2 gym teachers and your least favorite special ed teacher. Because, silly, didn't you know? This is their own personal office. The gym teacher has a key to the library. Now that makes sense, doesn't it? He can't seem to understand that I am bothered by this. So what? What's the big deal? You don't trust me, he says? Honestly, no. How are you supposed to tell a pushy adult who doesn't belong here when I'm not in (as you don't) that she can't come in? Answer: you can't. And you won't. So, potentially, I could come in to 10 people in here doing as they please. I feel like Rodney Dangerfield - No Respect, I tell ya!

And the craziest thing of all?? Perhaps my least favorite person of past years - the one who tortured me and drove me nuts is now on my good side, is supportive and even sympathetic (though still sneaky, so I have to watch what I say). Then again, she's medicated...

If I Plan to Learn....

The next line in that motivating saying is "I must learn to plan". This was emblazoned across Student Planners in middle school, as well as across the weekly homework poster that was to be displayed in a classroom. Here we were, trying to encourage our students to PLAN ahead. And not that I'm a big fan of the bigoted Boy Scouts of America, but don't they say, "Always be Prepared"? Oh, and that's right, my principal reminds us teachers often, when he reminds us that lesson plans are to be out on our desks at all times.

What's my point?

My administration does not plan appropriately for certain events. Everything is a state secret, and if you don't have the security clearance, you'll never know what's going on (this includes big events, like author visits and competitions). My security clearance has been dropped - I used to be in the loop. Then I started to think a little too much for my own good, and worse, I let my feelings and opinions be known. And nobody likes to be reminded how smart they are not.

Today a little birdie shamefully let me in on one of those state secrets... First, the back-story. One of our new teachers quit. Up and said, I can't do this anymore, I'm out. And so instead of considering hiring a replacement, our geniuses decided that other teachers in that subject area would have to step up, and subsequently lose other parts of their own existing program. The general school public was not brought into the fold in terms of that last little tidbit - we were led to believe that these teachers would simply be taking on more responsibility, generously stepping up blah blah blah. So it turns out that there are a handful of us who will also be getting new classes - the classes that these generous professionals are giving up to help out with the program of the deserter (please understand, I hold you in the highest regard). Now, wouldn't it make sense to let those of us who will be experiencing new students and a change in our schedule know what's going on?

Apparently not.

Apparently planning is not what they want us to do.

Apparently it makes sense to keep from me that I will be seeing a brand new 6th grade class that I hardly know twice a week with no assistance for the rest of the year.

And the best part is that the kids have this new schedule. The kids know they are meant to come to me TOMORROW MORNING FIRST PERIOD (oh, and no homeroom, so really right away) and I only know because the teacher happened to let slip this afternoon.

Tell me, dear sir and mes dames, how am I meant to succeed, how are our students meant to succeed with no notice and complete upheaval?

No, please allow me to answer that - I understand - we are not.

Yesterday...

I was talking to a co-worker about how quite miserable I am here at school. It bothers me that the kids get the wrong end of the stick nearly every day. It bothers me that there is little to no respect for others, including one "professional" to another. It bothers me that I put a very clear sign (a giant red stop sign, laminated) on the library door that says, "Testing, PLEASE do not disturb", and yet the door might as well revolve it incurs so much traffic. "Oh, I didn't see the sign", they say. Didn't see the sign? DIDN"T SEE THE SIGN? It is a foot and a half in diameter and in your face LITERALLY as you pull the door toward you. But I see, you didn't see the sign.... Now this, of course, is my real problem - I shouldn't let these things bother me. I should just become complacent and forget that I have standards that I expect people to live up to. I simply expect too much. Well, gee, then I guess I'll just LOWER MY STANDARDS like all else who work in low SES areas and move on...

My colleague told me yesterday that I shouldn't let these things bother me... Just let it go... Ignorance, I have heard, is bliss... Too bad I"ll never know for myself...

Another Quickie

So the principal waltzes in (sneaks in is more like it - he's very stealth these days - picture John Turturro as the butler in Mr. Deeds!) this morning while my class is doing Independent Reading today and he wants to know why they aren't practicing for the upcoming ELA exam. I know I looked at him like he had 10 heads, (a fault I'm not proud of...) as I certainly wanted to ask him what exactly he thought the ELA exam tested our students on if not reading comprehension?!?!?!? Alas, the man has no connection to curriculum or knowing what works in a classroom, and so if the students had a copy of an old test in front of them that they were "practicing" from, he would have considered that "rigor" - his new favorite word... Today I referred to the place as a "sh@# show", and that is simply the best way to sum it up right now.

Teachers are dropping like flies, resigning in the middle of the year and retiring just to get away, and yet he sees nothing wrong...

The worst part about it all is that at the end of the day, it's just sad. These struggling kids CAN NOT get the education they deserve because there is a divisive madman with tenure at the helm and no end in sight...

A Quick Note....

On the subject of grants, if your school is struggling, and your students are struggling, and you have the opportunity to put a phenomenal piece of technology in a classroom (thanks to a grant), why, on this amazing green earth, would anyone ever put that piece of technology in the principal's tiny office to rot and collect dust?!?!?!? Seriously? Come on, folks, you have kids who don't even know why they should be sitting in a classroom, let alone doing work with old textbooks and worksheets (what year is this?!?!), and you have the opportunity to motivate these crazy kids with some eye-popping technology and yet you keep it for... what? Cabinet meetings? I mean, really, no more than 10 people can even fit in there at once - who are you planning to awe? It's a joke, really, and a prime example of the misguided, disorganized, poor judgment that plagues this failing school.