It's official!

I am now a salaried teacher, for six more weeks anyway! It would be great if when this temporary job is done another was waiting so that I could just keep right on, but it would also be excruciating to fill in yet another class from mid-April to the end of school (3rd week of May). On the other hand, going back to subbing will be sad, too. (Bob, couldn't we manage on what I earned these weeks and let me start summer break early??) I could hope that this teacher decides to take the rest of the year off, but that would mean that she wasn't recovering well from her grief and stress and I don't want to hope for that!

It has been a trial by fire. That's why I haven't blogged at all. I've stayed late after school every day (until 5 or 6) and spent 5 hours there on Saturday. I get up every day at 5 and go to bed at 11 or midnight, way too little sleep for this old lady! Yesterday and today I actually got to leave right as the children did to run to the county office (about 45 minutes from school - our house is midway between) to take care of paperwork before they closed at 4!

Yesterday my principal handed me a note and told me to go see "MT" at county office right after school. I hoped that it was good news, but she didn't say and I didn't ask. "MT" wasn't expecting me, though; she went to check and came back to have me sign some forms. After signing a couple, I asked her, "Does this mean my highly qualified status is okay and I'm hired? Or can you tell me?" She assured me that I was a salaried teacher starting that day, yesterday. She shook my hand as I left and that was all the ceremony that was involved! Bob was helping out with meals at camp for the Christian camps meeting, so we didn't even get to eat out to celebrate. Since I was home earlier than usual, I did get to go to Curves with Loni for the first time in two weeks, then she and I stopped at Subway to bring dinner home. Whoohoo!

Right now is a very tense time, especially for my co-teacher. This is the time of year teachers "explain" which students are likely to be retained (and why, I guess?). We had our Teacher Talk scheduled for this morning during prep time, but meetings were running late so I was excused to go collect our children from their "special." Because of the illnesses of the two teachers (the one I'm replacing and the one with whom I'm working), record-keeping and so forth has really suffered. Now she's having to gather and organize all the documentation and she's not (how shall I say it kindly?) a very organized person. Also, she's a "new" teacher in this district and in her first year as a regular classroom teacher (after 30 years in special ed), so I think this is much more than she's had to deal with in the past. Although -- special ed requires LOTS of paperwork and documentation so it shouldn't be TOO new.

We've cleaned the room and organized - the teacher on leave doesn't specialize in organization either, apparently, and it's hard with 30+ students in a regular-sized classroom. She DID have certain routines, like copies of dittoes made, on a schedule and a regular schedule of what occurs when in the classroom. But I'm determined to cut down on dittoes and have more writing and instruction, so this next week I'll be pushing for some significant changes in our routine. She may be very unhappy when she returns and finds so many changes, but I have to do what works for me (along with my co-teacher, of course). Plus I have all these ideas I've been gathering for 13+ years that I want to try out!!

We have a several children with "issues" - as a matter of fact, I spent about 1 1/2 hours this evening trying to redo our seating arrangement I created just last Saturday, trying to separate certain children. Some of the children just need academic support (LOTS of it) and some have emotional issues which impact their learning. Still others are just chatty or immature. My BIG IDEA of having lunch with some of them had impact for . . . a few hours! The child I was hoping to bond with still resists my efforts and gives me his special "evil eye" (he's pretty good at it, for a second-grader!) when I speak to him abut his behavior or "request" his cooperation. I know that it will take more than one 20 minute lunch to build a relationship, but I only have a few weeks!!

We're pretty strict with them, have to be because whenever we try to loosen up and have fun, they take advantage and chaos results. I tried having them stand and stretch for a few minutes this afternoon; you never saw so many falling over or heard so much noise from a group of children standing and stretching. We can't walk from point A to point B without arguments, fights, pushing, etc. Amazing! I wish I knew what we aren't doing right.

We do have good moments. We were having a pretty good one this afternoon, if very noisy, Friday afternoon. We'd completed the math test and were paired off for a math game all around the room. The problem was, I forgot that THE PRINCIPAL was our special guest for "Read Across America" and she arrived to read to the class right after the children had all scattered and begun to play. Yikes! Trying to get them quickly quiet and leave their games and sit around the rocker took her authoritative voice and posture. Good job, Mrs. Bliss! Oh, well, what can you do?

Well, this novel has gone on long enough. Thanks for hanging in there to read it. Continue to keep my in your prayers, please. It's not easy, but it is wonderful experience and I am SO GLAD to finally have "my own" class! (singing) "I am a teacher. I am a teacher."

Have a great weekend.