An Ode to OHS

Like many other districts in the nation, my district is scrambling a little.  Covid is expensive...and I'm not convinced that "the right" decisions were made in the years leading up to this mess...so there's that..(but no one asked me...) Regardless, one of the ideas is to offer the option of early retirement to people who have between 14 and 30 years of service in the district.  This is my 19th year, so I definitely qualify for consideration. I put my name in to see what happens.  After a lot of soul searching (and number crunching and late-night searches for transcripts from undergrad) I decided that early retirement is not in the cards for me right now.  There are too many moving parts to make it work for me/our family, so perhaps if it comes up again in a few years it will be an option...but not this year.

It did prompt some reflection on this place where I've spent almost 19 years of my teaching career.  Here are some random  Saturday morning thoughts.  They are really in no particular order...if you haven't figured this out, this blog has become a sort of online journal.  There are (many) posts that I've started and may never publish, and there are posts like this one that I start, let sit for a while, then find a reason to finish and publish.  Enjoy this little sentimental trip down memory lane...

The day I started at OHS, The Girl turned one.  Her brother wouldn't join us for a couple more years.  But (and?) we've kind of come full circle...because The Girl is away at college most of the year and there is again only one "child" in my house!

We had two cats--Tigger and MJ and one dog, Indy--all of whom have crossed the rainbow bridge (and were joined by Liberty, who joined us much later in my OHS career!).  We still have too many pets, but they are a different herd.

I drove a Volvo station wagon--I loved that car.  I love my current car, but I often "wish" I'd paid the $500ish to fix the Volvo instead of trading it in for a Subaru.  Bah. My car decisions for many of these OHS years have been influenced by "I need a car that has all-wheel drive in case they don't plow my neighborhood because my current house is in a different climate region than OHS"

I lived 3 miles away from OHS when I was hired--a quick trip home for lunch or to pick up forgotten things. I now live 26 miles away and not only are those quick trips not possible but sometimes the commute makes me really consider that (meh) early retirement package.  Sometimes I've driven that 26 miles, arrived at school, and thought, "Ummm...is it a bad thing that I don't remember the trip at all?!".  I've made the trip in 28 minutes (a record!) and on awful snowy (or construction) days it has take 2.5 hours to get to or from.  My commute has stretched when I had kids at two different daycares/elementary/middle/high schools and shrunk when riding the bus or driving their own car was an option. There were a few years when I felt like I lived in my car. I've driven alone, I've driven with my kids, I've carpooled with co-workers.  I've been dropped off and picked up, I've ubered and I even rode the city bus a few times.

I've been at OHS most of my 30's (9 years), all of my 40's and now I'm 50 (eek).

I've had fabulous days at OHS and some of the lowest and scariest moments of my life.

I've laughed a lot and cried a lot...sometimes both at the same time. 

I've had phenomenal co-workers, made good friends, and tried to work with people who are really hard to work with.

I've looked forward to coming, I've dreaded coming, I've gone to work early because it is where I want to be and almost run out the door because I've had enough for the day/week/month/year.

I've searched job postings, and applied for other jobs, and enjoyed pictured myself being here until I'm 80.  

Some days I feel like I have teaching all figured out and some days I still have no idea what I'm doing.

There have been great lessons that I think I should publish and lessons that I'd rather never think of again.

I've watched the younger siblings of my students grow from little people under the conference table during IEP meetings, to awkward 9th graders, to graduates, to really fabulous adults.  I've been called to the front security desk to see "someone"--favorite students sometimes, who are home from college, jobs, adult life in other states, and sometimes "mystery" students...who hug me (pre-covid, clearly) and tell me how much they miss me and all the great things they are doing....then leave and make me search my mind for "what was their first name?!!". I once told the front desk person, who said, "You don't remember them?!" that I could tell you what class that student was in, what year, which desk, the way s/he answered a specific question...but not their name.  D'oh.

I have so many OHS t-shirts and sweatshirts that I think I could make several t-shirt quilts...and still have shirts leftover (yet, I realize occasionally, that I did "miss" a few senior shirts and that I never have purchased an OHS beanie/stocking cap...which I would really love to have!!)

I have walked MILES during hall duty, stress walking, exercising.... from the South end of the building to the North end, around the building, up the "secret staircase"...I have also struggled in, lugging a baby and all his stuff (in-house daycare years), limped in on crutches, thunked in a walking boot....I've escorted my preschool children to the faculty bathroom and I've had my (former) secretary escort me and my crutches.  I've watched pep assemblies, and state championship parades, indoor track practice... There are days I never leave my office/classroom and there are days when I feel like I have walked every inch of the building. (And there is that one day, not too many years ago when I came out of a faculty bathroom in another wing of the building and wondered where I was ).  I've navigated a parking lot clogged with media vans and I've arrived (and left) in a  dark parking lot when I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in the building (at least the only person in my wing).

I've loved my job, and hated my job, and loved my job again... And most days, at the end of the day, good or bad, I know this is exactly where God wants me to be. This place is a big piece of my story and I am thankful for the memories and lessons...and look forward to whatever comes next. 💚 💙💚 💙💚💙

A collection of quotes and other stuff

In my never-ending quest to make a few extra dollars by increasing my educational level (the joy of any job), I am taking a class this summer.  I think I am over 50% finished with it--I'm waiting for my professor to return my email with the answers to some questions about one of the final projects.  While I'm waiting I thought I'd share the book I read with (all three?) of you out there who read my blog :)
I read Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire by Rafe Esquith.  I may have read it a few years ago, I know I read one of his other books, There Are No Shortcuts, which I read with the hope that although the title said "no shortcuts"...that maybe it was a trick and book really did include shortcuts to make teaching easier!  Rafe is a clever writer, his books are full of stories and examples of things he thinks he has done well and things he knows he messed up and learned from.  For years, he taught in a very impacted LA school district as a fifth-grade teacher.  Some of you may know him as "the guy who travels with his fifth graders and presents Shakespeare".  A couple of years ago he lost his job--his version of the story is that he has always been very outspoken about what is best for kids and the district didn't like this.  The school's version was that he had inappropriate relationships with his students. It doesn't look like criminal charges were ever filed, but Esquith sued the district for wrongful firing and so forth and so on...you can google it.  What I want to share here (partially so I remember) are some quotes and thoughts about the book--possibly random, but at least I'm writing something, right?  I'm not going to provide too much context here--I figure those of you who have read this far and are intrigued can go get the book and read it for yourselves...Really these are just my notes so I can find them later :)
I'm working from the paperback version (Penguin Books, 2007)

Page xii
"I thought to myself that if I could care so much about teaching that I didn't even realize my hair was burning, I was moving in the right direction."
Page 4
"...many teachers are so desperate to keep their classrooms in order that they will do anything to maintain it."
"We can do better."
Page 6
"When teaching or parenting, you must always try to see things from the child's point of view and never use fear as a shortcut for education."
"Replace fear with trust"
Page 7
"Yet we should never become frustrated when a student doesn't understand something.  Our positive and patient response to questions builds an immediate and lasting trust that transcends fear"
Page 8
"Discipline must be logical"
Pages 14-26
"Lawrence Kohlberg's Six Levels of Moral Development (applied to the classroom)
Page 20
"many of our greatest heroes became heroes by not following the rules."
Page 21 (but really from Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird)
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view"
Page 24
"We ask a lot of our kids and do the best we can.  We need to raise the bar for children precisely because so many kids are behaving so badly.  We cannot allow incorrigible behavior to make us lower our standards."
Page 174
"Handling money, relationships, loneliness, difficult people, and disappointment can all be factors that defeat kids who are on their own for the first time."
Page 224
"It's a thankless job. It's hard to find a reason to believe."
Page 225
"So  you continue to look for a reason to believe, and your search brings you to your students."
Page 227
"As usual, it is a student who proves to be my best teacher.  There is a reason to believe."

Lesson plan (and other) ideas:
Page 22
"I have a Personal Code of Behavior and I Follow It"--great idea...how do we get there personally?  How do we get our kids there?  Our students? (There are no shortcuts...)
Page 39
Differentiate, differentiate, differentiate...explain material, pay attention to reading levels and student needs (duh)
Page 40
Content Area, or just for fun, Book Club...Supplements curriculum, outside of school day...when, how, what?
Page 47
If you have a good textbook don't give it up when the school or district does something new that doesn't look as promising (and the flip side...try the something new...but hide the books just in case)
Page 49
Grammar exercises--can this be used in history?  How...things to think about.
Page 52
Type up essays "as is"-- work individually or in groups to make essays better
Page 78
How to study--ideas to use
Page 82
How to practice and correct practice tests (explain your answer, why it is right/wrong and why chosen)
Page 87
Geography games/competitions--lots of ideas here
Page 94
Fun idea for Government class--maybe for extra credit? Make a bulletin board, could use other quotes for other classes
Page 147
How to solve a problem--written for math, but can it be re-written for other subjects?  (Yes)
Pages 162 and 167
A way to expand existing US History extra credit film project--creating a film library for students to borrow from (or has Netflix made this obsolete?)

Teaching

A while ago, someone shared this article with me: 11 Reasons Teaching Is the Best (Even When It Isn’t)  It was written from the point of view of an Elementary School Teacher, I think it is true (with some revisions) for high school teachers as well.

Here are my thoughts my the high school world...

The headings are Ms. Wiley's based on her elementary school experience, and the narrative is my "twist" on high school....And I discovered that even though her title says 11...there are only ten...

1. Small chores being done for you--Just like Ms. Wiley, I've discovered that there is always a student willing to run to the water fountain and fill my water bottle (although I feel like I have to be choosy about who I send, lest my water have, um, additives...). I also love that my restless high school students LOVE to run to my office to get things I've forgotten or make a quick copy.  I've purposely left my coffee on my desk when I know I have a restless student who will need a walk...shhh...

2.  The compliments....although these are usually strange, always unsolicted, and occasionally just weird..."Miss!  Miss!  Did you get new shoes?"  "Um...no?"  "Oh,well, those are really blue!"  "Um..ok, thanks?"  There's also the "Class was really fun today!!!"  My favorite was, "Hey, Miss!  You're not wearing black today.  Cool!"  (Um, ok?) I also like the guess your age game...a random student will shout out--"Hey, Miss!  How old are you?  Are you older than my mom?"  and another will answer either, "She's 32, duh..." (or....)

3.  But yet, they keep you humble.... "Nah, man, she's at least 60" (D'oh?).....And the "This is boring...."  (yes, PSAT Prep is boring...let me know when you figure out a fun way to really do it, folks...sigh)

4.  The weirdness....It's high school...do I need to even address this?

5.  The camaraderie with other teachers...There are so many inside jokes and "you had to be there moments" where we laugh at ourselves...I love my co-workers (well, most of them... :)  )

6.  Shake your head and laugh moments--this goes with 4 and 5, of course...sometimes I just shake my head and laugh...The "What just happened?" moments, when no one is hurt or embarrassed, but I wonder, "um, what was that?" (see #7).  Last week I was working with a student and another was trying get my attention.  After about five "Misses!" , he shouted "MOTHER!"...which caused all of us to laugh hysterically....and did get my attention..

7. Birthday treats...So this is rare in the high school, although, they do bring their own snacks, so sometimes there are unsolicited candy bars (or Chick fil A french fries!). A couple weeks ago though a parent did show up at school with treats and balloons for her (embarrassed?) 17 year olds birthday...they were yummy...And there are occasional boxes of donuts and other pastries because a co-worker stopped on the way in.  One of my co-workers has started bringing treats for all her IEP meetings...I'm thinking of hiring her to bring some for mine, too :)

8. Pajama Days--or Spirit days as the case may be--Last week was "Wish Week"--Monday Pajama Day (I can't quite bring myself to wear pjs' to school, but I did wear jeans and a comfy sweatshirt), Tuesday: Tourist Day (jeans and a t-shirt), Wednesday: Yellow Day (jeans and a yellow t--are you sensing a theme here?) Thursday:  Animal Day--Skirt, blouse and animal print scarf (jeans needed to be washed)  Friday: School Colors Day--jeans and t-shirt...duh.

9.  Summer vacation and snow days--well, duh...but this does backfire sometimes..."Ack! Now my B day lesson plan is ahead of my A day plan--ugh!  Now, how am I going to fix this?"  I have an on-going "argument" with some friends and family members as well, about summer vacation...if you want me to not speak to you for a few days, just say "Well, you have three months off to just lie around all summer so I don't know why you need snow days"....Ummm...most summers it is about 6 weeks and during that time I am taking at least one class and working on curriculum for the next year...as well as doing all the stuff (like scrubbing my bathtub) that doesn't get done during the school year..honestly..does anyone scrub their tub?

10.  Its always a (fun) adventure--every day is different, every day is something new.  A few months ago I posted a selfie on Facebook and one of my high school classmates said, "You look like you're still in high school"....I was able to answer.."Well, I am.... :)  "

While there are days I'd love a day off (without writing lesson plans for someone else to follow), I do love my job  career.  Thanks, Ms. Wiley, for the inspiration!

Back to school

This is another one of those posts that I "had a lot of trouble with".  It seems really tricky to write something that I feel strongly about, without sounding snarky, but while still including what I really think.  Maybe some of you have some (nice, helpful) thoughts to help me clarify what I'm trying to say!

Another summer is gone!  I've been back at school since August 12 and my students started August 18...but the boy and the girl go back today!  When they were little, those "gap" weeks were really tricky--I was usually off about the same days during Winter Break, but not always during their spring break or the week before their school starts.  Some years we would make a deal with another family, that each parent would take one day off and then one of us would take two days so we had "free" childcare.  But it is really hard for me to take day(s) off the first week of school--leaving lesson plans is almost always more work than just going to work, but during the first week?  Eek!  Other years my parents came and covered the gap or I found a "day camp" for the kids.  Luckily, the kids are old enough now that they can either go to IM's office and watch cable tv all day (yes, we have cable at the office and not at home) or they can stay home and entertain themselves pretty well.  Another benefit of having "older" kids ,I guess. The one flaw in this system is that The Girl is investigating babysitting gigs...meaning The Boy will be "stuck" at IM's office...oh, well...I suppose there are worse places to be than an air conditioned office with cable tv. (Note..I wrote this a couple weeks ago...The Boy actually got to hang out with his friends Z and M and do all kinds of cool stuff--I'm a little jealous! Better than cable tv!)

As the summer wound down, I've mentioned a few times that "boy, this summer went fast!", usually leading to a comment from the hearer about "teachers having too much time off". I get a lot of crap, for lack of a better term, from people about "having my summers off".  Sometimes I think people think they are being funny, but this summer a lot of the comments were particularly mean spirited.  Especially because of the mean-spiritedness, I haven't had a good reply in most cases.  Sometimes I've said something like, "well, if you are so jealous of my summers off, then I guess you should look into teaching...although that's not a very good reason to teach..."    I have a hard time explaining that it isn't that I think I deserve to have more time off (because I know I don't "deserve" time off any more than anyone else), or that I think the teachers at the speaker's child's school should have more time off.  If you read the first paragraph, you know that I totally "get" how much it stinks when my kids (your kids, our kids) are out of school and therefore daycare must be found.  And yes, I get that thousands (millions) of people do all the things I do during my summer (grad school, continuing development, vacation, scramble for childcare) in the midst of their own very demanding jobs.  Maybe they are just better people than me. I did some googling looking for "responses from teachers about too much time off" and most of those were snarky...not what I think at least, so that didn't help me verbalize what I'm thinking.

I wonder if the same people who tell me I have too much time off (when I say, "gee, that went fast") tell other people in other professions the same thing.  I mean, would they tell their doctor, who just said, "gee, that week in Florida went fast" that the doctor has too much time off?  And are they the same people who say that stay at home moms "don't work"?  Because, let me tell you, it is a luxury during the summer to only have one job...that of stay at home mom, and I appreciate that luxury greatly..but it's not like I'm sitting at home eating bon bons on the couch....even with older kids!  And, part of my "gee that went fast" is the same as that of any other parent...while I know my job is raise my kids to be positive, contributing adults...I do sometimes have that moment of "wow...when did they become so big?  How did I miss that?"!

There is also not only the loss of summer (winter is not my favorite) and the loss of some "free time" but also it is about changing job titles every fall.  Going from "mom" to "teacher"...and feeling like I don't have enough time to do either job well.  I feel guilty when I am at school, because I'm not doing what I need to for my kids, and I feel guilty at home because I'm not doing what I need to for my students.  Yes, I know that is a common feeling for all working parents, especially those who deal with people.  I think it hits hard for teachers though, because we are surrounded by kids all day...but not our kids.  In our students we see the people our children used to be or are becoming and realize multiple times in a day that we missed or are "missing" things with our kids to be with other people's kids.  Maybe that is true for other professions, but I think it hits harder for some teachers than it does for some folks who are in an office with adults all day.  I could argue that working with children/teenagers, other teachers, administrators, and parents is at least as challenging as dealing with co-workers, customers, and bosses in the corporate world, but I'm sure that the snarky people have an answer to that as well.  And while many other professionals may feel like you can take the third Tuesday of May off for their child's school performance, many of us teachers can't do that...because we are presenting your child's program or teaching a unit that would lose value if changed so a sub could teach it.

Maybe my point is that teachers seem to be the recipients of a lot of hostility  lately.  Even though we didn't create the American Educational System, we are "yelled at" by our friends, neighbors, and relatives about our laziness, that we have too much time off, that we are whiners...and yes, that is true of some teachers, just as it is true of a percentage of workers in every other profession.  It would be great if people would take our "wow, that summer went fast!" at face value...that whether the rest of the world likes it or not, summer break is part of a teacher's benefit package, a benefit package, that like everyone else's, is shrinking a little bit each year as insurance prices and other benefits shrink.   It doesn't mean we hate our jobs...we are just like everyone else, that, yes, some extra time off would be nice. Maybe I miss it because I'm deep in the field of education, but I don't hear about outsiders telling doctors and lawyers how irresponsible and lazy they are when they decide to take a mental health day on the second Tuesday in November....but when teachers lament that Veteran's Day is no longer a holiday for schools (although banks are closed) people tell me I'm lazy and spoiled.  Hmm.

For those of you who think that school should be in session more/longer, I urge you to do something about it, rather than "yell" at educational professionals.  Do some research, investigate the pros and cons for kids of having more days of school, of alternative programming, of having longer days...present your findings with an open mind to people who can make changes and listen to what folks who are teaching say.  I'd love to see real statistics and evidence as well, not just opinions.  Investigate schools that offer year round programming for your own kids--find out if it is really what will work for your family. Remember though, that lecturing me about how lazy I am is not going to benefit the children in my classroom or my relationship with you.

Happy Fall, everyone...Gee, that summer went fast...

My second job...or is it my first?

Today was supposed to be my "short" day of teaching--I teach two classes, both in the morning, and then I have two planning periods.  Funny how things work out and interfere with my plans.  All those papers I intended to grade are still in my bag (it is now 9 pm) and the projects I "needed" to do are on my desk. I left school and brought the kids home and spent about 3 hours helping The Girl with her homework.  No, I didn't do it for her, although it took every ounce of my teacher skill set to not just tell her "grrr...write this".  After many tears (from her) we survived, without me loosing my mind or my cool and both kids are tucked into bed.   I have a stack of US History papers to grade and a paper to write so I can earn credit for the conference I attended last week.  I was sitting here stressing a little about all the piles (not only the paper piles, but the laundry piles) and saw that one of my teacher friends posted this article on her facebook page. If you haven't read it, I recommend it...I think it rings true for What Students Remember Most About Teachers as well as what our kids (who live at our house) will probably remember about their childhoods as well.

Teacher work week

So I'm writing this on Thursday night, so I haven't technically survived teacher work week, but things look promising.  Today we met our freshmen who will be in our freshmen orientation class and practiced the schedule.  After school I was able (for the first time in about 9 years) attend the welcome back barbeque--it was very fun! Tomorrow we confirm case loads, finish lesson plans...and prepare for Monday...I'm excited about this school year!! Tonight I figured out how to blog on my Kindle...and found a charger in the bedroom, so I can blog short things from my Kindle...again, yay! I'd say a successful day...

Teambuilding and other fun

It's ironic how much trouble I have with team building exercises...I mean, it's not like I'm shy..and I worked as a corporate teambuilding leader on and off for about 3 years...but all my new coordinator had to do was say "For Friday's department meeting, please think of an object that describes your personality."  I've spent since Monday when I received the email obsessing over what I am going to  say...At one point I thought about saying, "A pencil, because I'm sharp"...but then I though, "oh, no, what if she just asks us to tell the object, but not why and our co-workers (or her?) have to guess why...and what if they think it's because I'm easily manipulated...?"  See what I mean...this is stressing me out...  So I went to my old (new?) resource...Facebook, of course.  As I giggled at  my friends responses (cat, magic 8 ball, icosahedron, contrarian...) we touched on many subjects...the homemade, quilted seat cushions of my parents' 1978 Volare Station Wagon, my brother's fear of mashed potatoes, Canasta, my childhood cat's carrier (made of refrigerator shelves), cat hairballs, whether or not I hide under furniture due to lack of socialization as a child (hiding under furniture likely, but not due to lack of socialization).  I still have no idea what I am going to say when we do the activity in our staff meeting...but at least I had a good 10 minutes of laughing hysterically....