BulgingButtons

Not bad for a fat girl

Tag Archives: teaching


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A Rainy Day Whine

Disclaimer: I know I have it good.49222397

Whine: It’s raining. Wahhh. I live where it rarely rains. The children here are used to playing outdoors everyday before school and at lunchtime. Today that won’t happen. It will make them a little crazy. Wahhh.

Before school I will open my classroom twenty-five minutes earlier than usual to students. Wahhh. I normally use that time to prepare for the day. It’s much more difficult to do that when students are in the room. They require attention, which I happily provide, but then other things are left undone. Wahhh.

Today is our computer lab day. That means that today I don’t get a prep period, since each classroom teacher is in charge of the lab for his or her class. Wahhh. No restroom break. No time to check email, make phone calls, scan homework, look ahead to the next lesson, or even just have a few minutes of quiet. Wahhh.

Then comes lunch. Immediately after the students eat I will pick them up from the cafeteria and return to the classroom with them. Wahhh. I won’t be able to catch my breath and enjoy some grown-up conversation. Instead I will run to the restroom (finally) and inhale my lunch and desperately try to make it back to the cafeteria in the allotted fifteen minutes. Wahhh. Then the squirrelly, hyperactive, anxious kids and I will spend the next few minutes in “relaxation” mode in the classroom. Wahhh.

By dismissal time we will have spent six hours and fifty-five minutes all together (with only a fifteen minute break). Wahhh. I don’t care how much you like spending time with ten-year olds, that’s a long time, especially when there are 34 of them and one of you. Wahhh.

At dismissal we will stand huddled together in a small covered area with the half the rest of the school waiting for parents to pick up. There will be more than usual, due to the weather, so it will go slowly, and kids will be so wound up that it will be noisy. The younger grades will be dismissed from the cafeteria, so there will be confusion about that. Wahhh.

After the children are gone, I will crave silence and solitude, but no, we have a meeting to learn the ins and outs of the brand spanking new standardized test we will be administering next month. Wahhh. Can teachers opt out? I don’t think they can. Wahhh.

My sweetheart says I should just show a filmstrip, and part of me agrees, but in this era of “data-driven” instruction and “high stakes” testing there’s no way I could do that. It will be teach, teach, teach, even when the kids and I all need a break. Wahhh.

Now I need to paste my game face on, remember to have a sense of humor, and give it my best. Thanks for listening, I feel a lot better. And who knows, maybe the sun will come out after all.


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Split Personality

aheadsI’m at an impasse. I’m not sure what to write about. It’s not that I don’t have anything to say. I ALWAYS seem to have something to say. It’s just that I’m not sure in what direction I should go at the moment.

This blog began as a way for me to bitch and moan and then celebrate a little about how I was treating my body. I was going to get fit, dammit! And I was going to be accountable along the way by sharing my trials and tribulations with all of you out there in blog-land. Naturally, I would digress from time to time, but that was fine, especially since I planned to be completely anonymous.

Well, it didn’t take long for me to start writing about my family of origin, and my current family situation. After all, this is my life, so welcome to it. Again, I was anonymous, so whatever raw emotions I was feeling I spilled out onto the screen and didn’t think twice about hitting the publish button. I am what I am, take it or leave it. Something like that.

Then I started to sneak in some of my professional life. I’m a teacher. Teaching is an all consuming profession. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about SOME aspect of my profession. Lesson plans are swirling around in my brain, the endless to-do list nags at me at the most inopportune times, and I’m constantly thinking about how I can be more effective. It’s impossible to be me without also being an educator, so again, into the blog it went.

One of my education pieces got picked up by Scary Mommy, and that was a lot of fun. Thousands of readers took in my words, and honestly that was a rush. The piece was also translated into Greek and posted on no fewer than 8 Greek language websites. That event also marked the end of my anonymity.

Now in addition to an educator, I’m a writer. As time has gone on, I’ve come to realize that writing is something that I’m meant to do. I’ve been writing, reading about writing, learning about writing, and writing about writing. And yes, I put that into the blog too.

So now what I have is a big ‘ole mess. The blog has turned into a giant mish-mosh of stuff, from fun fitness for fat chicks to fabulous books for fourth graders to my childhood memories of gingerbread to my feelings about frito-pie and standardized testing. I’m afraid that as I’ve spread out my topics, I’ve lost some momentum. I feel like I’ve lost my edge by wandering around discussing this topic and that. I feel like I need to narrow my focus and find my niche, but I’m not sure I exactly WANT to do that. I like writing about a little of this and a little of that. And I don’t think I have the energy to run several blogs at once.

Even if I did, what would I call them?

BulgingButtons – or how two years later I’m still fat and struggle with making good lifestyle choices

All the Pretty Words – The Journey to Becoming the Writer I Believe is Hiding Inside Me

Give Kids a Chance – My Take on How our Education System Ought to Help Kids

Past, Present, Future – My life as it was, is, and hopefully will be

I know bloggers who have revamped their blogs, or started additional blogs to address new topics. What do you think? Shall I soldier on? Make some changes? Rein in some of my topics? Avoid others all together? I’d love some feedback, and if you’ve been with me for some time, thank you, your support means a lot.

 

 


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Winter Break

article-2252586-16A1C8A2000005DC-997_634x432Today is the last day of school in 2014. The children are giddy. The teachers are exhausted. The air is charged with electricity.

It’s a fun day at school, but a busy one. Holiday projects must be sent home. Gifts to teacher must be marked down so that thank you notes can be properly written. Student desks must be cleaned out. Bulletin boards and calendars must be changed. Any missing work from the quarter must be rounded up. Loose ends must be tied up. Equipment must be unplugged at the end of the day. Materials must be laid out for January. It’s a lot to think about.

After all is said and done we will walk out of school this afternoon with big smiles on our faces and happiness in our hearts, knowing that we will be spending time relaxing with the ones we love.

I am so fortunate to do the work I do, and I am fortunate that I get breaks in between to rest and recharge.

Just as I’ll be recharging from school, I’ll be recharging from the blog. I’ll be a bit quiet over the next two weeks, but don’t worry, I’ll be back with plenty more to talk about.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the season with the same enthusiasm that my students have. For them it’s all about fun and wonder. I hope you’re able to share some of that holiday magic with the ones you love this time of year.