2011

So, in a rare moment of awesomeness, my principal let me leave for Christmas break 2 days early. I promised to have my room all moved and I got other teachers to cover my classes. I drove 13 hours with my brother and an hour after I got into town, I drove 2 more hours with my best friend to go see the best concert of my entire life.

While I was home, I thought that I should probably come back here a little early and really set my classroom up right. Then I thought, "wait, these clowns can't even give me a chalkboard. Why would I waste my vacation time setting up my classroom?" So I didn't.

My room looked like ass all day and even though I stayed until 5pm today, there's still a lot of work to do. They say maybe I'll have a chalkboard by the end of next week.

Things actually went rather smoothly today, considering it's the first day back and at 7:45 none of the children knew where they were supposed to be. I got about 25 new kids incorporated into the classes I already have and nobody was a jerk. mission accomplished.

Two weird things today though:

1. I have been teaching with the same woman for my entire 6 years. I remember walking past her classroom in awe my first year. How do they sit so quietly? Is he actually doing classwork?! Why is no one cursing? I thought she had like, magical powers or something. It was really weird today to walk into her room and see the exact same group of kids who had just sat quietly like angels in my classroom acting like lunatics in hers.

2. Some charity something or other that is affiliated with my school gives out holiday meals to some of the families at school. I left on Tuesday, December 21st. They gave out the Turkey and Trimmings on Thursday, December 23rd. Today, January 3rd, there was a formerly frozen, now rotten, turkey sitting in my classroom. It smelled up the whole school. GROSS.

I Am So Depressed About Moving I Can't Even Handle It.

95% of the teachers in the building have to move. Everyone who is moving is moving to a totally different floor. We have one *shitty* elevator and only one of those flatbed things.

We are in school until December 23rd. The only time we are allowed to move is after school or from 11-3 on December 23rd. (Also, if you choose to move after school before then, you can't move anything you will need to teach for the rest of the week.

We aren't allowed to say anything to the kids until the principal talks to them. My new room has no: chalkboard, bookshelf, cabinets of any kind, desks, or chairs.

And in case it's not clear as to why being beside the office is horrible, horrible, horrible:
1. Everyone who steps inside the building will see my room. They'll probably see it before they even see the main office. Everyone includes the CEO, parents, fancy pants observers, EVERYONE.
2. Some crazy shit goes down in that office. I'm not really feeling being the first line of defense when somebody's mom goes nutso.
3. My whole discipline strategy is not the agreed upon, 'first, rearrange seat, second, assign detention, third, parent phone call.' it is more, "MESS WITH ME AND I WILL KILL YOU." I don't think that will be as easily implemented with everybody and their mother (literally!) breathing down my neck.
4. Everyone who is late to school (mostly everyone) has to come to the main office. I know all the kids. Everyone will be bothering me all day.
5. Whenever the main office gets crowded (a lot of the kids seem to plan their freak-outs simultaneously), I just know they'll be sending them to me. "Miss Vinson, can he just sit here for a second?"


UGH.

Logic

Push a Teacher?
3 day suspension

Flick the lights on and off in the cafeteria?
4 day suspension

No Need To Call Me!

From my friend Valerie:

They Hate Me

This is the new classroom I have exactly one day to move into (It's been a storage room all year):



This is how far away it is from the main office:

This Totally Looks Legitimate

His pass forging skills are unparalleled:





Can't you just see his thought process?

"What do I need? A Pass!
Where do I want to go? the Hallway!
Who am I? Darius!"

I'm Tired of Faculty Meetings That Change My Life

So we got our new principal.

This is all I know:

1. Next Friday, I have to start packing up my room.
2. They are shutting down the entire 3rd floor and everyone in the school is relocating to a new section of the building.
3. I'm losing one of my classes (7th graders) and gaining a new class (6th grade).
4. MY NEW CLASSROOM IS IN THE ROOM NEXT DOOR TO THE MAIN OFFICE.

More info after I process all this information.

What the What

By The Way, Real Quick, Just a Little FYI

Principalison'indefinitepersonalleave'newprincipalcomes tomorrow. Any questions?No?Great!Bye!

STUPID

A girl named Shawnae (who I taught last year) pushed the 8th grade Social Studies teacher. She actually had to yell and scream a little to even get Shawnae suspended (for 3 days.) She said (understandably) said Shawnae can't come back in her room.

Today, Shawnae is back. Recap: She's in 8th grade, I taught her last year.


They put her in my first period class, the 7th grade one.
The 8th grade Social Studies teacher is the only one who even said anything to me about it.