Only a little early this year…
It’s started.
The nightmares about school have begun! Usually they’re about me not being prepared to teach my class, and my cooperating teacher comes in to yell at me. During the overnight between Wednesday and Thursday this week, I had one of the school nightmares where I’m running late for work. This time I couldn’t get the car started, and every time I looked up, I was in a different place. I had 15 minutes to get to school.
As some of the loyal 11.2 readers may know, every year I go through the dreaded approach to school. This year is particularly precious because a) we’re moving in mid-august, b) I’m doing grad school, and c) I can’t get into my classroom.
Tradiitionally, the first week of August I am back in my room getting things ready to go for the highly anticipated students coming into class and being forever scarred from me laughing at them when they say “I’m done!” This year, we had summer school in our building, which prevented the custodial crew from going in and cleaning the room until late last week. So all of my stuff has been packed, and had to stay packed. Our school is also replacing the carpet in the hallway with tile (an acoustical nightmare, to say the least) and so I can’t get into my room anyway. At the end of the school year, the principal said “You may not be able to get into your room until August 15th.” I laughed. (and then I peed myself a little.)
If you promise not to tell anyone, dear Internet, I’ll share a secret with you. On Monday, I “snuck” into my classroom (the hallway floors are down to the concrete, but the tile hasn’t been laid) and grabbed the materials I needed in order to plan the first few weeks of school. I got a little reamed by the head custodian, but he didn’t tell me he couldn’t, just that he would rat me out if anything was wrong with the floor.
So now I have my materials, my shiny new lesson plan book, and my nightmares. And it’s only July 27th! Woo! Let the countdown begin!
RSS Trackback URL 27. July 2006 (08:22)Filed under: General, School Daze
5 Comments»
Cindy
27. July 2006 | 11:29 hMy nightmares started, too. I have the usual one - I’m running terribly late on the first day of school, I’m not prepared, and I have no idea where my classroom is. I have that at least a dozen or so times leading up to school. But I have a new one this year! It’s Homecoming weekend, and I forgot to schedule a photographer for any of the events! Aahhhh!
Jen (Renner) Haselhorst
29. July 2006 | 06:21 hTony,
I am new to blogging and was poking around on Cindy’s site when I linked to yours. I hope all things are going well for you and I must say I was giggling out loud at reading your blog. I actually do not have night mares about teaching. I do however have terrible insomnia thinking about everything I have to do. Once the fun actually begins then I am up thinking about the kids and what they have done, you know the good the bad and certainly the ugly. I actually begin teaching summer band this past Monday and it goes right up until school starts. Although it is sad ending my summer so early, it is nice to ease back into the saddle. Take care Tony and I will be back for more light-hearted commentary.
belle
30. July 2006 | 15:56 hI had my first back-to-school nightmare last week too! I was at school for what I thought was a meeting and it was the first day. I said I thought we had 3 weeks left! Luckily in real life, we do… I better get to work! (I can’t get in my classroom until Aug. 7, which isn’t too bad.)
Josh
30. July 2006 | 22:34 hNote: This comment comes from an outsider to the teaching world.
It seems a little unreasonable to me to think they would not let you in the school until Aug 15th.
You mentioned there was summer school and then the cleaning crew needed to start….
It seems to me with the set schedules of summer school and knowing how long the cleaning and repairs are going to take, they could plan to have the school open for one or two days to let teachers come in and get supplies.
Thanks,
Confused Non-Teacher