A Day in the Life

(Taken from my personal diary, August 2009)

5:55 - The alarm clock starts blinking.  Hit the snooze button.

6:00 - The alarm clock starts blinking again.  Stretch and turn it off.  Thank God you don't have to wake up to a blasted noise anymore.  (If you are interested in the best alarm clock ever, go here.  This clock has literally changed my life!)

6:02 - Pour myself a bowl of Cinnamon Harvest cereal (Kashi - so delicious) and get online.  Primarily check Google Reader, CNN, Daily Mail, and emai (I used to get up at 5:30 and read the Bible, but I have stopped doing that.  I need to get back into that habit.  I'm not a morning person.).

6:15 - Turn on music, get in the shower.

6:40 - Get dressed, grab lunch and throw it in my Trader Joe's bag (I use that as a school bag).

6:45 - Pull out of garage.

6:50 - Walk into my classroom.  Turn on music.  Check school email.  Grade papers.

7:15 - This is when people start coming into my room to talk to me.  I get nothing accomplished.

7:30 - This is when my two work partners come in and ask me what to do.  Sometimes it annoys me, because can't they make any decisions on their own?  They are educated adults, after all!

7:40 - Write the date and lunch choices on the board, change the daily schedule, fill in the agenda so the kids can fill out their planner.

7:45 - Fill up water bottle, use the restroom.

7:55 - Kids start coming to the room.  Stand at the door and greet.

7:56 - Periodically, most of the kids come ask me "Can I go to the bathroom?  Can I sharpen my pencil?  Can I go back to my locker?"  And every day I'm like "STOP ASKING me, just go do it!  You're not in kindergarten anymore!"  They get much more independent by Christmas.

8:05 - I ask if anyone has any lunch money or notes for me.

8:07 - I ask if anyone has any lunch money or notes for me.

8:10 - The tardy bell.  I count a bunch of people tardy.  I ask again about lunch money or notes.

8:11 - The morning announcements/pledge/Pride Pledge.

8:20 - Time to start the math lesson.  Some kid will interrupt me and ask me what he should do with his lunch money and notes.

8:21 - William announces "I hate this.  This is boring.  I don't want to be here.  I don't like you.  Why is your hair so white?  You have a big nose."

8:21:05 - I take a DEEP, CLEANSING BREATH.  My nose might appear even bigger because of the frequent DEEP, CLEANSING BREATHS I'm taking all day.

8:22 - I start the math Power Point.  This is not my idea.  We're being forced to follow a new math series, and I just stand there like a dumpy Vanna White and hit the arrow button on the Power Point.  I don't even teach anymore.

8:23 -The kids' eyes begin to glaze over, because this is the most boring, stupid method to teach, ever.  But hey, it's researched based.

8:25 - I remind William gently to stop laying across his desk.  He responds with something like "I don't care!"  Or makes animal noises at me.

8:26 - I remind Garrett to close his mouth!  This happens all day long.

8:45 - Finish Power Point.  All kids are confused.  And bored.  And I'm wondering why they need me, when they could just hire a monkey to do my job?

8:47 - The kids are supposed to play the math game that goes with the Power Point.  But they don't get the math concept because of the stupid Power Point, so I spend a lot of time walking around, explaining.

8:50 - I mutter about how much I hate this math series, and how I'm going to have 60 totally clueless kids by the end of the year.

9:00 - The kids start whatever assignment it is.  I remind them that they only have 5 minutes.  William says "I don't want to do this.  I don't care about this.  I hate you."  And I think "I love you, too, William!"

9:05 - Clean up from math, get ready to go to their special class.

9:07 - Stand in the entrance to the boys restroom yelling "Do I need to come in there?  What is going on?  I will come in, don't make me!" Every once in a blue moon, I will have to go in there.  And I yell about 400 times "I am coming into the restroom!  Ms. Non-Mommy is coming into the restroom!  Did you hear me?  A female teacher is coming into the restroom.  Cover everything up, I am coming into the restroom.  Did you hear me?  I am about to walk into the boys restroom!"

9:10 - Drop off kids at their special class.  Remind the teacher that I need a detailed report about William's behavior.  This is my planning time.  It varies from day to day.  Many times I have meetings.  I run tons of errands, email upset parents, call back parents, etc.

9:58 - Oh my gosh!  I have to pick up my kids in 2 minutes!  Race to the restroom, and make it to the other side of the building by 10:00.  Yes, I could have a gold medal in getting in and out of a restroom quickly (with clean hands!).

10:00 - Have a new group of students in my room.  Teach a stupid Power Point math lesson.  But this class behaves much better than my homeroom, so I relax.

10:55 - Get my hellions back.  Take them to wash their hands before lunch.  William says "I don't want to wash my hands.  Sanitizer is 99.9% effective, and I used two squirts, so I'm covered 180%.  I don't care about Swine Flu."  I don't correct his math, or explain it to him.  He sticks his tongue out at me or something equally mature and respectful.

11:05 - I sit down with my lunch.  Some other teachers will come in and we have a meeting until recess.  I have to take notes.  While I am eating.

11:20.  I just don't even talk anymore, because I'm wiped and I don't want to complain anymore.

11:20 - Grab my hat, water, and the rest of my lunch and go to the playground where I eat the rest of my lunch while monitoring students.  Keeping a close eye on William, because he has problems at recess (I have recess duty every other week, all week.  So if I don't have it, I'm in my room thinking about doing work, but really just emailing.  Ha.).

11:45 - Recess is over, return to the room.

11:50 - Reading/writing time.  I dread this block of time.  I can teach writing well, but I strongly dislike teaching reading.  And guess who else hates it?  William!!  And he tells me that, vociferously.  This includes conversations with him at approximately 11:55, 12:00, 12:05, 12:10, 12:15...etc.  This time of day seems like it will never end.  I end up checking my email at lot during this time.  It's good to know there's life outside of my classroom.

1:20 - Reward recess.  This is the only consequence I have to give students.  If they misbehave, they miss this recess.  Or if they have missing work.

1:35 - Back in from recess.  School wide intervention time.  Too complicated to explain.  Just know that William hates it.

2:10 - Take the kids to the restroom.  Someone will come tattle on William at this time.

2:15 - Who cares what we are doing by this time?  All that matters is what William is doing.  It usually involves throwing things.  Or yelling.  Or both.  By this time in the day, I'm really tense.  William is not my only problem child, by any means.  But he dominates most of my day.

2:55 - Stand in the hallway and watch the kids go to their lockers.  Take deep breaths and give myself a pep talk.  Some kid is usually standing with me, telling me a story.  And I nod along like I am listening.  Ha.

3:00 - Kids leave, I stand in the hallway for bus duty.  This involves getting hugs from tiny children, and high fives, and my old students sneak into the building to say hi to me, and William has left, so I'm feeling better.

3:15 - All the kids are gone.  If I don't have a meeting, I will do more email and grade more papers.  And try to avoid the janitor.  But this is when he comes and I am trapped.  I have meetings most of the time after school.

4:30 - Leave school, after a long boring meeting.  Or, leave the meeting trying to not hire someone to whack the powers that be in the knee with a crowbar.  Where is Tonya Harding when you need her?

4:45 - Go to the grocery store.  I don't go every single day, but I go a lot - because I'm a very poor shopper.

5:30 - Sit on the couch and try not to fall asleep.  Or take a quickie nap.  If I'm still awake, I'll skim the internet quickly.  And maybe have a spoonful of peanut butter.

6:00 - Do some form of exercise.  This time might vary.  I usually meet two friends for this.

7:00 - Get home, cook something to eat.  Question my decision to not eat foods that have HFCS in them, or to only eat whole foods.  Because this means I have to cook!  And clean up!

8:00 - Eat.  Watch some TV. I'm playing on the computer on and off all night.  It sits on my couch, open.

9:00 - Turn on some music, grade papers for only an hour, I vow. I have 180 math assignments A DAY to grade.  Times that by 5 days, and I have 900 papers to get graded by Friday.  And that's only one subject.  Again, not my idea!

10:00 - Take a shower and feel much better!  I'm clean!  I'm relaxed!  Woo!

10:30 - Get on the computer for very serious computer work.  This includes reading my Google Reader, checking out a few slightly gossip-like celebrity websites, and doing email.

11:30(a) - If I'm not still on the computer, I get into bed with a good book.

12:30(a) - If I'm reading a book, I probably stop reading about now and go to bed.

11:00 (b) - I might be online goofing off at this time.  If so, I might be up for much longer.  Just depends.

1:00 a.m. -  I definitely aim to be in bed by this time!

This is my very boring life at this time.  It would have looked very different last school year, and even MORE different during the summer.  You can see that work kind of dominates my days at this time.

(Love this song, especially very loud.  I've always wanted to play the piano part for this song.  Or really, any instrument in it.)