Last week of "freedom"

I have been busy getting ready for next week when the faculty and staff prepare for the students returning on August 25. Up north many schools do not start before Labor Day, but down here, people have trouble keeping the public schools from starting earlier, like early August which happened for a few years here. I guess that's why we have state legislatures, to insure that the public schools, which the private schools follow, have sane school calendars. Although it would be nice to be an 11-month employee rather than a 10-month employee, both public and private schools could not afford the increase in teacher pay. Reality check, folks.

My husband claims that I'm an overachiever, which may be true, but I need to have a sense of accomplishment and readiness when summer break is over. So, I finished the 2 items of clothing I made, I am hemming my new dress pants, and I am cleaning out my closet and drawers of no-longer-worn clothes to give to charity. Plus I was at the school yesterday to work on my classroom and train any new teachers available on their homework web pages. (One down, 5 or so to go.)

This year will be better, though, since I dropped the department chairmanship. I still don't know if the principal convinced anyone into the slot, but it's not my problem anymore. I just need to work on my teaching, the school's instructional technology, and the junior class (I'm their moderator ... and why are we called "moderators" rather than "sponsors" in our school?). I may actually be able to work on decreasing my weight and my cholesterol this year! That would definitely make my doctor happy.

School Dreams

I can tell that I have the next school year on the brain because I am having nightly teaching dreams. Although I am doing preparation school work every day, I have a sense that it will not be enough to make a smooth start. Two main reasons for this: (1) I will have a freshman homeroom, and I have never had a freshman homeroom in 14 years of teaching; and (2) I am teaching a new subject, Honors Probability and Statistics. Since my first BS is in statistics, I can teach the subject in my sleep, so to speak, but I still need to create a pacing guide and a general walk-through for myself. Ah, at least I no longer have the time constraints of the department chairmanship. I can do this.

I've been trying to get out almost daily to walk for an hour or so, but today I woke up too late to avoid the summer's heat. I think I'll go to the local big mall and walk there while checking out the fall fashions. The funny thing is the fact that due to a small salary, this will be the first time I will be at said mall in over a year. The stores are too expensive for me and my family. It will be a nice change of pace walk, though, especially with the air conditioning. (Maybe that's why Barak Obama does not sweat when he works out in front of reporters: air conditioning?)

I still have my muslin shirt waiting for me to cut the interfacing and sew. The pattern calls it the "3 hour shirt", but the package notes that the time approximation does not include pinning and cutting the fabric. It is a rather quick-to-sew pattern, and it's one of my favorites, so I figure just a little bit of time on it. Today, maybe? Then I can move on to checking out the thrift stores for jackets and dress pants to get for teaching. I don't have enough time left to do any serious clothing sewing after the shirt because I have other obligations awaiting my attention.

Teacher Time Saved

On Friday I had my annual physical. I make sure that I get physicals, medical tests, etc. taken care of in the summer because it is such a hassle taking time off school as far as using a substitute goes. Since I teach math, there are very few substitutes I can get who can actually teach a lesson, so I have to create generic lesson plans that usually involve a lot of worksheets. I find that to be such a waste of teachable time. So much for the idea of teachers being out whenever they feel like it. Maybe I should have taken on history or some such subject. ;-)

I've been catching up on newspapers; I'm currently in the middle of March. I find it so amusing that politicians and others put the onus of students' learning on the teachers exclusively. It's like putting the dental health of patients entirely on the dentists' shoulders and ditto for doctors. As long as we have a cultural view that it is okay for students to do badly in science and math, we will never have major success in those areas across the board. Of course, we do have a president who takes pride in being a "C" student. That man shows me just what value a Harvard MBA does not have. End of sermon. I have some sewing to do.