Workshop Week= OVER

Well that certainly was interesting. The 5 days of prep, training, and get-to-know-each other activities was enlightening. Things that I learned in no particular order:

• our Superintendent likes to spend time with teachers, so much so, that he sat in on one entire training session to "keep it in the front of his mind." Right.
• communication sucks no matter where you go when you involve more than three people.
• I appreciate that I'm lucky enough to have grown up working with Powerpoint throughout my life. Those who had to learn it when they were older don't quite seem to get that reading exactly what is on the slide is NOT THE POINT. It's like an outline- a reference for what you want to talk about. Powerpoint should NOT be an entire presentation.
• I refuse to be a teacher who spends a fortune of my own money to run my classroom (ie. BUYING TAPE because it is absurdly expensive and if you don't believe me go to Target and look ). I will do what is necessary, but I believe in there being communal office supplies.
• being on committees is okay, but whenever possible get on the one that gets compensation.
• my zero tolerance for plain stupidity is going to be an issue....
• being the red-headed step-child of the school district doesn't have to be a bad thing. I can reach out to other teachers for "guidance" and get treated really well because I'm a new teacher and they won't hold it against me.
• setting up a classroom while moving is not a good idea. I don't recommend it to anyone. Ever.

There will always be politics in a school district- that's just the way it is. However, I feel that pride should get swallowed if what's best for the WHOLE is uncomfortable for one. If you're an assistant principal and your principal gives you a schedule (completed for all teachers for the year), you should take it and thank them for saving you lots of work. You should NOT criticize it, start over, make a mess of it, and expect your teachers to fix it. Because we have better things to do- like making Word Walls. Or writing journals. Or mailboxes. Or the Back-to-School newsletter that must be in two languages.

My mentor, Mrs. K, is fantastic. After a very un-helpful all-staff meeting, I told her that it didn't make me feel any better, just added more things to my list. She offered to email me copies of her name tags, and the class snack note, and bus tags, and family info questionare, and a few other things that are very important, but would have taken me two days to create in English and Spanish. And since I'm moving (okay, taking a break from packing to write this but you know what I mean) while I'm getting ready for the first day of school, I don't have two days to dedicate to document creation especially when I find out about it on Friday afternoon.

And so I left my classroom not 100% finished on Friday night. It's mostly done. All students have mailboxes, and assigned desks (that will likely change, but are set for the first week), and attendence slots. There are pencils, erasers and crayons on each table. I have my Word Wall up and ready to get filled in. My class newsletter is written in both languages, copied for each kid, and ready to get stuffed into the envelopes. I don't have my online log in for lunch counts and attendence. We don't have a schedule that will give us time for math every day. We do have time for literacy interventions, though possibly not enough teachers. I don't have scissors for each student yet, but I hope they bring in their school supplies on Tuesday.

And so, I will face my first day as prepared as possible. I know what I'm doing. I am bigger than them. And I'm already bilingual and they're still just learning. So I win. No matter how chaotic Tuesday is. Because it will be. I just hope we don't lose a kindergartener!!

~J