New School Year

Ahh... welcome to a new school year!!! 

Teacher workdays start in the morning... and the end of the summer has ended on such a fun note... 

• Principal includes me in a response to a parent about speech services and says that I will get in contact with her next week when we are back in the building. Not a problem. Let him and the Admin Assistant know that I am on top of it. Email parent, then remember that the child already has an IEP so I email parent back saying oh wait never mind..I forgot she had an IEP.. and let her know we had it under control.. Let principal and Admin Assistant know she already had an IEP and this changes things but I have it under control 
• Admin Assistant replies to my second email telling me that I need to take care of this situation because I am the only one that knows how this process works.. Um mm... did you miss the message of I have it under control and I am in communication with parent?  
• Parent emails principal that her child who is going into first grade was diagnosed with ADHD over the summer and that the doctor feels as though that the child needs a 504 plan so how does mom go about that? Principal - not a problem thank you for following up with your doctor I am including the person to follow up with. (Me) She will follow up with you when we are back in the building and she will be able to write up the plan... Ummm... just cause you have a diagnosis doesn't mean you need a 504 plan Not even a child on my radar last year... 
• Met with a parent and child was diagnosed with ASD in addition to DS. At this meeting I am trying not to let my jaw hit the floor. As mom is explaining that ABA therapy works wonders (duh it was developed for people with DS) and my principal sits and asks dumb question after dumb question and gives mom everything she wants. We meet a staff after the meeting..\
• Umm.. what is our staff supposed to do with this therapist in the room full time? 
• Principal: So this was decided at the conference why wasn't I informed.. Umm No it wasn't decided at the conference. This is the first I have heard of it. Mom never even mentioned looking into ASD. 
• So when is her next conference? May 
• Principal: You need to reach out to HSE to get her diagnosis changed because it means more money for us. not that easy but okay... otherwise.. wow just wow
• Attended summer conference - staff demanded that I be in their room next year and was upset when I really had no reason to be. Sorry that you assumed... One literally told me that she can't teach without a second person in her room . 
• Principal hired a second part time aid for the year.. Didn't ask for one can't justify one but he wanted to spend HSE money so he decided to do it...mark my words there will be drama

Why?

Why?

Why does this need to be said?

Why do people think this is okay to do?

Why do others think this is okay to do?

Kid you not.. got an email from my boss to the whole staff with a few things for the day since he will be out.. This was #3 on his list..

March Madness is here.  In case you are asked to put a basketball game on I am giving you your reply:  "Mr. S said March Madness games are not allowed to be shown in the school during the school day at any time for any reason."


WHY??? 

Say what you need too

There are some days that you need to speak your mind, regardless of what the consequences may be. Today was one of those days. 

I work with a few staff members that LOVE to throw me under the bus when ever they can. Why? Because I am the special education teacher. They love making themselves looking like all that and a bag of chips. 

Today during a cluster meeting colors were shown. One staff member demanded to know why we don't get subs for me and the other special education teacher when we are out. Why? We are a team of 3 and we cover each other. This wasn't good enough. Staff was upset because she didn't have support in math for 4 days so she couldn't teach her math lessons and continue her math lessons into the next week because she didn't have the critical help she needed. It wasn't communicated that she wouldn't have help. She knew that reading would be covered by me but that she was never told about math. 

Ummm no no and no. You were told that schedules would be altered. That we would be in classrooms as we could be. You as a staff member NEVER called down to see if it was possible for me to take a group.  If you would have check we could have worked something out.


Oh and apparently she's upset she had to stretch reading out for two weeks too because of how we handled reading groups.. Not our problem you didn't send kids down. Not our problem there was 2 2 hour delays in a week and one day of no school. Not our problem 

Oh and do they forget that they also forget that they asked to change their non-Spanish time because one of the 5th grade teacher had to go and pick up a rental car? Guess not.. 
 
Another staff member tried to tell me how to run non-Spanish time. Um no... How about you teach and let me do what else is needed in my room. 

The irony in all of this.. the teacher that brought this up.. has not a problem sending down students when it is convenient for her doesn't check with us.  Assumes that we have nothing else to do. Prime example last Friday. Sends students down for a test. No problem we were expecting that. Then 10 min after sending students upstairs, same students were sent down. Why? They were doing reading groups and we were expected to do our reading group. Ummm... no... you know that Friday's we are unavailable in the morning. Long story short this teacher DEMANDS a time on Fridays that she can send the students down. 

The really ironic part of this.. after chewing me out.. the partner teacher calls down after the meeting asking if I could change my schedule because they need to change their schedule so she can have 8th grade help with the low SS students.  

My bosses interpretation... just make sure you over communicate. Communication is not the problem. Somebody just wants to teach who teach and wants the ones she doesn't want to teach out of her room. 

Honesty

I try to be an honest person in what I do. I may not always be able to tell you what you want to hear, but I try to be honest.

Today I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off, typical day. Dropped a student off at the conference room to finish up some testing. One of the 5th grade teachers come up the stairs as I was walking away from the conference room.and calls my name.

R- Hey J is over at confessions with her class and she left one of her students in the bathroom, so I took her downstairs to find someone who could walk her over to church.

Me- Okay

R- S asked me who was covering my class since I was downstairs trying to find a way to get this child over to church. I told him that you were. So if he asks, let him know that you were covering my class.

Me - well I am standing next to some of your students (they were working in the loft area, no where near her room,)

R- Okay great! Thanks for covering for me!! 

Why do people find it okay to take advantage of me??

Schedule

Phone rings this morning, one of the 5th grade teachers calling because they need to change what time each of the classes has to go to Spanish.. This affects my schedule because I have several students that don't take Spanish. 

Let teacher know, it doesn't matter who goes when I can make it work. 
Teacher - well we don't want to mess up your schedule and you not be able to see students
Me- I'm down a person this week... It's already messed up.  

So schedule gets changed... 

Go down to talk with the Spanish teacher.. 

Me- so I was only half paying attention to why 5th grade had to switch times... Why are they switching?
W: I'm not really sure.. something to do with one of them needing to pick up a rental car.. you know always drama. 

Yes yes I do 

Back Again

I am happy to say that I am back!

I needed to take a break and delete some things. I didn't want to do either but felt it was needed. I have found that I need to get back to writing whether people like it or not. It's not for them... it's for me.

A little of everything...

Since coming back from spring break it has been a journey.

Homicide, DOE, CPS investigation all in the course of a week.

Girl fight (bad one), middle school kid drama, and a staff member out for 10 days for back surgery - and it's only Wednesday. 

Today was the first day in a while I got to be in all of my classes without having to deal with a crisis. It was kind of nice to be able have a calm day.

Everyone asks if I have a bucket list. My answer is yes, I have one for teaching. When asked what's on it, my response is well, I don't really know until I get to put it on to knock it off...

So far I have -

being involved in an FBI raid
getting to talk with FBI / US Department of Ed Agents
student death as a result of a homicide

This week I have also come to the conclusion that teaching is bad for my health. I have one school to thank for my anti-depressant medication, all of my jobs for my weight gain, and my current job for putting me on blood pressure medication. Good thing I have insurance to pay for the drugs. If not my boss would be getting a nice bill.

Conversations I have had lately...

- staff member will be later than she thought because she has to take her dog to doggie daycare and her normal one is closed on Monday.
-so we are only going to have someone here 2 days a week to replace the therapist that is leaving? But that's not fair! We need someone here full time! (in a very whiney voice

• umm sorry - I didn't ask the therapist to quit, I'm not the one responsible for finding her replacement and I'm so sorry I don't have one to babysit your students that you don't like
• Same staff member sitting playing on her phone 5 minutes later- oh I'm sorry I forgot I was sitting here! I'll leave now. 

On a personal note -  I work with a fantastic English teacher that is undergoing cancer treatment. I would like to share her go fund me page.

https://www.gofundme.com/chasidistrong

Not an easy day

Today was meant to be a great day. First day back from Spring Break, we are in the final stretch, we can do this... Not so much...

This morning we found out that a high school student who attended our high school (we are a K-12 building) as of February this year, was shot and killed about an hour and a half north east of Indianapolis. Reports indicate that it was a homicide.

It has never been easy to watch students, current and former bury parents, grandparents and other relatives at young ages.

Saying that you lost a former student to a homicide makes all the others pale in comparison.

I wish that I could say that the last time I saw the student was on better circumstances. It wasn't. I was the expulsion hearing officer for him because he was up for expulsion. He was up for expulsion for theft of a staff member's wallet.

I wish that wasn't the last thing I remember of him. Overall he was a happy go lucky kind of kid from what I saw.

You just never know...

They won...

Today the kids won. I admit it, they won. They got the best of me. Ugly cry and all.


Boils down to I let a group of 7th graders under my skin... and that frankly makes me more upset.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Hang in there!

Some motivation for my teacher friends!

Food for thought

Good Week

I can honestly say that all around this has been a good week. Not to say that it hasn't been crazy, I mean what week before Spring Break isn't. Though, I can say it hasn't been all that bad...

See my previous post for some of the funnies that my students have thought that they could pull off...

Tuesday we gave a practice ACT Test. It took all day (even though it was supposed to be done by noon. Details)

While taking the ACT test - I hear that we are evacuating the building. What?!? I call the office to say uh you know we are doing ACT. Yep - we think we have a gas leak. SWEET!!

45 minutes later no gas leak, it is just the heater giving off a really bad sulfur smell... okay whatever. I wanted a day off.

I love working with the high school guidance counselor we have this year. We were able to have an entire conversation with about 10 words today and we both knew exactly what we each meant with out having to explain it out loud. Finally someone who understands my frustration with a certain class. She so gets on many levels what I am going through. :)

Re-enrollement is in process.... Game on.

Have one family that said they are looking at different options for their daughter for next year due to her abilities. Thought I had made progress... Nope... She brought the paperwork back saying she was coming back. Epic Fail!

Re-identified a student with a 53 IQ (had been LD.. oops!) Tried to convince parent that we may not be the best place (you know college prep and all) Nope... cousin is here to look after her. She's safe here. Epic fail number 2.

Dear Students

Dear Students,

I know that we have 2 school days remaining until we go on spring break. I would like to set the record straight on a few things before we start the day tomorrow.

• while wearing flip flops with socks is FAR more comfortable this time of the year, we have not let up that much on dress code. SO as a reminder... they are not part of dress code wear normal shoes
• I get that leaving the building to go to Wal-Mart across the street is far more fun than going to your English class.. I just have one request. Please come and get my shopping list. (no the debit card is not included)
• If  you choose not to take your Bipolar meds, I get it, I respect that decision. Just be prepared for my equally crazy response to your stupidity. Just hope you find the dean before me.

• Having your parents tell me that they don't care what your IQ is because your are ADHD and un-medicated really doesn't float my boat.  Honestly I need a better reason as to why you have a 71 IQ besides that. 
• I completely understand that you don't understand Spanish and better yet didn't study for the test. However, listing every kind of gun or weapon you know of in the answer blanks really doesn't score you any points. It really just worries your Spanish teacher more than you need to. 
• Telling me that your younger brother brought a stun gun to his previous school... priceless (it also explains so much)
• High schoolers, I talk with the dean and the guidance counselor... I can make your schedule your worst nightmare. I suggest you don't try me on this one.

Love,

Your Teacher

P.s. Just because Wednesday was an early release day for you, does not give you permission to act a fool for the rest of the week. Just sayin!