Day 159: Prepping for a Move

Today started with all of the students being called down to the auditorium and being read the riot act.

Literally.

There was what approached a riot on Friday and the vice principal was VERY displeased.  I don't know all the details of the incident, but the result is that we are now supposed to confiscate any phone we see.

Within 10 minutes of being back in the class, one of my students was on her phone.  When I went to confiscate it, as I was instructed, she started yelling about how she was texting her mom, etc. etc.

I am tired.  I'm tired of having to remind students that the rules are NOT just for other people.  I don't care about her phone, but she heard the directive.  I'm tired of having students wearing hoodies complaining about how hot my room is.  I'm tired of sweating through my clothes on a regular basis.


I started cleaning out my room today.  At the end of this school year, the 7th and 8th grades will be relocated to the high school, which is being renamed the "secondary campus."  This means that anything I would have left in my room over the summer, such as whiteboards, posters, workbooks, etc., have to all be packed up.

I have very mixed feelings about this move.  I like the idea of being a part of a larger educational community in the district.  My building often feels very separate from everyone else.  It will be much easier to set up vertical integration of the curriculum with department meetings involving the entire 7-12 faculty.

At the same time, I LIKE the small feel of my school.  I know most of the kids and all of the faculty.  It's more of a family feel than a corporate one.  I know that if I'm having an issue with a student, I can go to their other teachers and we will be able to work on a solution.  I know that my opinions carry weight.

I'm not sure that will be the case next year.

As of this moment, I have no idea hat I'll be teaching or if I'll even have a classroom.  From the sheer volume of students versus physical rooms, there are bound to be several teachers who will be traveling between rooms.  I worry that I will be one of them.

We were told that every teacher who wanted a Promethean Board will get one.  That declaration from administration was immediately followed by one from the IT department telling us that, in fact, no, that will not be the case.

This only makes me slightly nervous.  Yes, every lesson I've created over the past four years has been Promethean Board-based, but I don't need it.  I can use a chalk board or, now that I have a ton, white boards.  What makes me more nervous about being a transient teacher is my inability to create the learning environment.

I'll have to rely on my charming personality.

"Where's your homework??"

As I'm boxing up my things, I'm realizing how much stuff I have and how many things I keep around my room just in case I need them for when I'm hit with a moment of inspiration.

"I have a MUCH better way to explain this concept.  I need my tape, string, Styrofoam ball and yardstick!"

It will be like moving from a mansion to a mobile home.  There's nothing inherently wrong with the move, but it will require some SERIOUS planning and prioritizing.

Where am I going to keep my collection of vintage steamer trunks??