began on Monday. We reported at 8:30 for coffee, donuts, and bagels and a chance to settle down and greet one another, followed by the first of many meetings this week. By the end of the meeting we had our keys and could go to start setting up our rooms - of course I had not waited, arriving at 7 AM, getting a custodian to unlock my door so I could at least unload my car.
I did not leave school yesterday until 5:30 PM. People don't realize how much there is to do. Retrieve personal items of furniture from a locked office, get books from the book room, starting decorating your walls. In my case I had to totally rearrange the desks in the room to work for my style of instruction - teacher's desk in a back corner, student desks semi-ampitheater style so that they can see one another, and not run everything through the teacher.
Today, with more meetings, and mandatory training sessions, we also began to retrieve things like projectors, laptop and desktop computers that had been secured over the summer. Tomorrow we will get our printers. Some teachers may have 5-6 classroom computers to hook up, make sure the latest school system software updates get downloaded.
This year we are being very restricted on copying, so I have spent time trying to figure out what I can put online and what I will still have to copy.
There are two more scheduled days of this, and we have access to the building on Friday on our own if we want. Saturday there is a county wide event in our building, and we are not supposed to be on site unless we are helping with that.
There is more.
Tomorrow evening I will probably begin with calling all my parents. I have the information for all 6 classes available online, and it will give me a headstart. I begin with a few less than last year. I have four sections of AP totally 127 students, one special program class of regular government that has 28, and one totally regular class that currently has only 23, but will grow very quickly.
I have glanced at names. So far I have found 2 sets of twins - one set in the special program class, the other split between 2 different sections of AP.
So far I have identified 19 students where I have taught an older sibling - the names are distinctive enough that I can be sure. I am certain there are more.
We have very few teachers new to the building this year, because the school system has increased class sizes and eliminated some programs. When I started in 1998 there were around 25 of us new to the building. This year I think there are 8.
One turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I was not paying all that close attention to the names of the new people - their pictures will be posted by our mailboxes and I will learn their names then.
But at that first meeting I had to make several announcements, and one of the newbies, someone who is not yet fully certified and for whom this is her first K-12 teaching assignment, sat up and jerked her head around when she heard my voice.
You see, the year before I came to my current school, while I was in middle school, I was the yearbook adviser, and she was part of the yearbook staff. She recognized my voice, verified my name, and came over to speak to me after the meeting.
Today there was a lunch for those new to the building with the administrators, three of whom came up to me afterwards to tell me that she had told everyone about our prior relationship and that "he hasn't changed at all" which several, including the principal, found amusing. She is trained as a engineer, and after spending too much time trying to teach adult men who acted like adolescents decided she'd rather teach real adolescents. She will be a wonderful role model - an African American female engineer who is a product of our school system.
My room is almost completely set up. I had help from a former student in stamping and numbering books today - every book we issue must have a number and be stamped with the school information. She is both a member of National Honor Society (they come in to volunteer to help teachers set up) and the incoming president of the Student Government Association, so we had a chance to catch up - I taught her when she was a sophomore, and now she is a senior.
I have no meetings tomorrow - hurrah! I will use the time to organize paperwork, get some necessary copying done, and do some planning about how I am going to approach my classes this year. There is no longer a state test for government. That give me far more freedom in my regular classes. We do not yet know if we will replace that with a joint final exam - have to check to see what is happening school system wide. Since I will not be under pressure to prepare them for a high stakes test, I am hoping to do far more project based learning for those two classes. On AP, there is still the AP exam. I want to try some different things to get them to take greater ownership of the learning, but I am going to have play it by ear.
I come to believe more and more that this might be my last year, at least at this school. I will be 66 in May - I can retire, take a pension and social security and teach other than in a Maryland public school, or perhaps do something completely different. I will have opportunities in politics if I choose to avail myself of them.
Meanwhile, once again school will conflict with Netroots Nation. Our last scheduled day with student is I believe June 8. So as of now I do not know if I will be coming.
But that is so far away. Two more days of getting prepared while in the building. Then all 3 days of the weekend - still lots to do.
On MOnday students will arrive.
On Tuesday I begin my real teaching.
I can hardly wait until Tuesday August 23.
Peace.