These Are A Teacher's Favorite Days
Besides the last day before Christmas Break and the last day of school, what are a teacher's favorite days?
WORK DAYS! Bwa, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
Today was an optional teacher workday but since I am in a new classroom with a new curriculum this year I felt like I should opt to work rather than take the day off. I was able to get some of the boxes unpacked that I moved over from my old classroom and put up a couple posters and some maps. I also got my rosters for the three classes I am teaching. As of now, it looks like I'll have just under 90 students spread over three classes.
About half of the students I will have this year were in one of my two classes last year. The other half were at the other end of the sixth grade hall. I'm not sure which classes the rest of the students I had last year wound up in or if they are still enrolled at my school.
It will be an interesting year, that's for sure.
teachers | students | school | classes
Image Credit » https://pixabay.com/en/owl-bird-book-wise-nature-47526/ by ClkerFreeVectorImages
Comments
VinceSummers wrote on August 17, 2015, 9:29 PM
I've long wondered: If they call the time when pupils are off from school and teachers meet together "work days," what do the teachers engage in on actual teaching days? Is this why they send HOME so much work?
1morilla wrote on August 17, 2015, 9:33 PM
But... But... But... You're a teacher . You're not supposed to be, gasp, working when students aren't there. Sheesh. You're gonna give us all a bad name.
1DWDavisRSL wrote on August 17, 2015, 10:04 PM
An interesting question. On work days at the start of the school year we have to set up our classrooms after the custodians have pulled out all the furniture and stripped and waxed the floor, get all our books back out of storage, put our posters and maps back up on the walls, set up our student files for this years crop of younguns, find out what new laws and requirements we will have to deal with, receive our class rosters and set up our spreadsheets for keeping data on each child, hold an open house so the parents can come meet us with their students, find out which students have special needs and education plans, which ones have medical needs and special plans for that, find out which ones have diagnosed mental or behavioral problems and the special plans for that, and get trained to deal with all those special plans. But don't worry, we get 4 1/2 days to do all that before the students come and we actually begin teaching.
1DWDavisRSL wrote on August 17, 2015, 10:05 PM
LOL. I'm still amused at the looks students give me when they see me in a restaurant or store. It is as if they think we go into the closet for the night when they leave school and recharge, rather than us being people with real lives.
Sailorchronos wrote on August 17, 2015, 10:09 PM
Both my parents were teachers and I have friends who are teachers so I understand very well what it's all about. I do remember how quickly my parents wanted to get away at the end of the school year. When I was in grade school, within three days of the school year ending we'd be away to New Brunswick to stay at my grandfather's house for the summer and we'd only come back maybe three to four days before the beginning of September.
xstitcher wrote on August 17, 2015, 10:19 PM
LOL! As a preschool teacher, one of the memories I still laugh at is my shift being over, and getting ready to leave.
Child: "Where you going?"
Me: "Home."
Child: (looking confused) "You have a home?"
Preschoolers are so much fun... ;)
wolfgirl569 wrote on August 17, 2015, 10:23 PM
At least some of the students will be new to you. Maybe that will help you picture them all as good until they show otherwise
VinceSummers wrote on August 17, 2015, 10:31 PM
An excellent response! What about workdays throughout the year? Similar in some way?
cheri wrote on August 17, 2015, 10:53 PM
Seems a very busy day for a an untiring teacher in the school. Enjoy your day
Paulie wrote on August 17, 2015, 11:30 PM
I always enjoyed my work days when I was teaching, too. It gave me time to finalize my lesson plans, pre-tests, and other materials I would use for my classes. A little under 30 a class isn't too bad, but a class of 15-20 would probably be a lot better. Most of the time I had 40 in a class when I was teaching at the all-girls school. The smallest class I ever had consisted of 24 students. In a way, I envy you going bacl to school. I still miss the interaction with the kids.
Feisty56 wrote on August 17, 2015, 11:58 PM
One of my daughters is an intervention specialist, so I am treated to a more thorough understanding of what teachers go through in addition to simply teaching. Ninety students a day! I can't begin to imagine how you learn just who is who, let alone any special needs or IEPs, etc. My hat is off to you.
CoralLevang wrote on August 17, 2015, 11:59 PM
There are times that I wish I would have become a teacher, early on. By the time I did go to university for my degree, I didn't like the middle schoolers. LOL
MegL wrote on August 18, 2015, 3:56 AM
It's good to get some time to organise ahead of the school year.
1Rufuszen wrote on August 18, 2015, 5:26 AM
How old are sixth graders?
LoudMan wrote on August 18, 2015, 9:50 AM
With what I remember of teachers doing for us, in hind-sight, they must've been some of the most organized people alive.
peachpurple wrote on August 18, 2015, 11:32 AM
Teachers day should be. A happy occasion
1DWDavisRSL wrote on August 18, 2015, 6:14 PM
Most of the workdays throughout the year were taken away when our state legislature added 5 student class days to the calendar a few years ago. We are supposed to have one workday at the end of each quarter to get all the grades finalized for the report cards, to get all the accommodation paperwork done, but often those wind up being makeup days for weather, tropical storms in the fall or snow in the winter.
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 18, 2015, 6:16 PM
I'd love to be able to leave town for the summer and stay up in the mountains or down at the beach and concentrate on nothing but my writing.
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 18, 2015, 6:17 PM
They are mostly good children. They've just had less than adequate parenting.
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 18, 2015, 6:17 PM
Yesterday was good. Got to work in my room all day getting things ready for next week. Today, 1/2 the day was spent in a meeting. Blah! You know what that's like.
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 18, 2015, 6:19 PM
I was about to say I couldn't imagine a class of 40, but a few years back I had a class of 37 at a time when my classes were held in a trailer. We just about had to take turns breathing.
VinceSummers wrote on August 18, 2015, 6:50 PM
Understood. Here in Virginia, there are strange changes to the world of education. My son was a special student. He would not do homework, yet when tested, he aced his exams. 100s. Still, he was graded poorly. Yet kids who did poorly in tests had high grades. I found out grades were based on 1 part testing, 7 parts homework. That's just wrong! The parents could be doing the homework. Besides, if a kid can ace an exam, clearly he must know the subject. So, quite naturally, I question current education.
wolfgirl569 wrote on August 18, 2015, 8:28 PM
You see that more and more anymore I am sure. I know if I acted like I see some kids doing my parents would have busted my behind right then.
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 18, 2015, 10:23 PM
I question decisions and procedures handed down by administrator and bureaucrats every day. it doesn't do any good, but at least I'm on record as saying it won't work when they finally figure out it won't work. We've had three different methods of interim assessment of student growth in the last three years and this year we are implementing a new one. Why? I have no idea. We exceeded growth expectation at my school last year so you would think we'd stick with what worked.
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 18, 2015, 10:25 PM
The illegitimacy rate which drives up the poverty rate is the real culprit. Single moms with children and no dad taking responsibility trying to hold down two or three jobs while grandma or auntie, who were single moms themselves, try to care for the brood of kids, just don't have time to spend raising their children or teaching them basic manners and courtesy.
VinceSummers wrote on August 18, 2015, 10:26 PM
By no means! See my article on logic - which article I believe you've already noted. Logic, it seems, comes in various flavors. Some are flavored like bacon, chocolate, coffee, or beer. Others are flavored like brains, snails, chitterlings, and tongues.
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 18, 2015, 10:27 PM
I do my best to learn each child as quickly in the year as possible. There is nothing as sad as the hurt look on a middle school students face when their teacher doesn't know their name.
Paulie wrote on August 18, 2015, 11:30 PM
Classes in a trailer! Were they rennovating your school at the time?
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 19, 2015, 8:50 AM
Not when the trailer was originally put in place. The trailers had been in use for a dozen years before the renovations began. They just ran out of space in the building so brought in "mobile classrooms" rather than add on to the school.
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 19, 2015, 8:50 AM
Middle schoolers are a challenge, but teaching them can also be very rewarding.
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 19, 2015, 8:51 AM
Most are eleven or twelve. If they were held back in an earlier grade they might be thirteen.
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 19, 2015, 8:52 AM
I know some teachers who are uber-organized, but I am not one of those.
Rufuszen wrote on August 19, 2015, 9:43 AM
Okay, now I now where they'd be in the UK system.
CoralLevang wrote on August 19, 2015, 9:47 AM
You are a far better person than I will ever be.
Paulie wrote on August 20, 2015, 4:23 AM
That doesn't sound like very good planning on the part of your school board.
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 20, 2015, 7:04 AM
It seems the folks in charge of planning always plan for what happened in the past instead of what they forecast will happen in the future.
AliCanary wrote on August 20, 2015, 5:41 PM
Nice to get paid for puttering around, lol. I have to actually be teaching, darn it!
DWDavisRSL wrote on August 20, 2015, 6:37 PM
My comeuppance is upcoming, and that soon. Monday the horrible hordes of heads full of mush arrive to be molded by yours truly and company.
markgraham wrote on August 21, 2015, 9:15 PM
Since I am new to persona paper and did not know it was your birthday here is a late Happy Birthday. I studied to be a teacher, but ended up being a nurse for 15 years. Nursing is like teaching in a way for I was a psychiatric nurse and all I did was teach about life skills. I am looking forward to writing for this site for I have a lot of ideas for teachers, nurses and counselors for everything I studied in all my education. I am finishing my education in three quarters and a dissertation for my doctorate.