Second First Day

Everything went wrong

OKay, well not everything. But a lot of things. The buses were all over the place and I didn't find out until later that there were maps with the bus numbers and locations. There was only one person there helping out and lots of kids were so confused. A younger kid was crying. I could relate.

More than one kid got left behind and had to call their parents. A kid who I was helping to find his bus got on it, then I saw him later not on it. I believe he had gotten off (do the bus drivers let you do that?) because he didn't know where his stop was. He was on the phone so I guess he was calling for a ride. I wasn't warned about things like this. 

The bathrooms near our class were locked. I had to take two boys to find a bathroom when I'm new and don't know where things are, and so I had them use the staff bathroom. Because by the time you actually ask to go to the bathroom, you have usually needed to go for awhile before that. I also hate it when teachers make kids wait.

I was supposed to go to a math class with a boy who didn't know me and should have been introduced to me by someone who he knew from last year because that caused him a lot of anguish. I wasn't told how to find the classroom, and I thought it couldn't be that hard, but it was. There are limited stairways and they are not marked at all. Malls have better signage than schools. There should always be clear directional signs for bathrooms and stairs. For finding your way around and for fucking emergencies.

My teacher was MIA for the first two hours. She hadn't said this yesterday. I wasn't left with instructions of what I was supposed to do. I felt abandoned. I work well independently but not until I know what my job is supposed to be doing! That just exemplifies my advocacy of a shadow week for new people. It's what they do in most places, and in my second classroom last year, where you simply follow someone around for a few days or a week who can train you and answer questions. It's not a difficult concept to understand the importance of. I just wish everyone else thought so.

The teacher passed out some math sheets one at a time. I think she should have passed them all out together and let the people who finished first read quietly. I'm a reading person and want to incorporate as much reading as possible into kids' lives. Because she didn't assign reading time until the end when they were not really into it, more anxious to socialize before leaving for home. It also would have been more efficient because the pages were already grouped. I get really frustrated when I see learning or reading time wasted because of poor planning or organization.

She had me write numbers to match people up in pairs and pass them out. It went awry because she had me make too many, but I didn't catch that either. People make mistakes. I hope it wasn't a test. It would have been so much easier if we had made them ahead of time and figured that out then. Before 

confusing ourselves and the kids!

I had no idea when my lunch or breaks were. I only got to take one of my breaks. I don't mind per se, but I would like to have them since they are my right and it helps a lot to get away from the environment and shut your eyes or read or use your phone for awhile. It's supposed to be your time to relax or snack or go to the bathroom, or whatever you want to do. Go talk to someone you need to see, etc.

I still haven't even seen half the school yet. Or the staff lounge.

One of the art teachers seems pretty great. She was a guidance counselor for fifteen years before this. I wonder what her life journey was like.

I'm really frustrated because I am still very overweight. Riding my bike to Summer school helped a lot, or started to, but then I stopped and now I feel like I am Mrs. Pudge again. I did a lot of walking around the school today though, and that will help. But God, was I tired. I came home and said to myself, okay, no TV before blogging, and then I promptly fell asleep for almost four hours. PEACE!

P.S. It may finally rain tonight, but as of this morning, there were 20,000 acres of forest land in Columbia Gorge area burnt or burning, and the air here is still smoky, and this is a devastating fire...