Jun 13 2008
School’s out, school’s out! Teachers let the monkeys out!!
I made it. And, strangely enough, this is the FIRST year that I’ve been home by 5 pm, grades in, exams filed, and supplies put away.
Three teachers retired, which has meant that two of my favourite hall-mates are leaving. Ruth gave me a Christmas tree for my classroom (yes, no one’s ever made a fuss about Christmas decorations in this public school) and let me rummage through her “garage sale” tables. I snagged a Michigan pennant from Mr. S.
I won’t be teaching English next year, which is a blessing. There’s nothing quite like a literature lover trying to convince sophomores that Shakespeare is great and John Proctor wasn’t a stupid guy for choosing to die for the truth. I try not to think about the writing aspect. I try to comfort myself that at least my students will be able to express their fact-challenged opinions with better grammar. 
I am going back on Monday to grab some books and start preparing lesson plans for next year. I’ll be teaching a brand-new class, plus revamping my current Spanish classes. I’m excited about it, actually.
I love the fact that you are doing your next year’s planning. I am doing the same.
What do you teach, Laura?
I teach 6th, 7th, and 8th grade language arts and 6th grade religion in a k-8 in DC.
I have been teaching for 21 years……
You know, I was at your website and thought, “She’s too young to have been teaching that long!” I kind of forget that Time flies.
I’m an old “young” teacher, having come from another career. I’ve been teaching 8 years, first in a now-defunct Catholic school in Detroit and now at a public school in Michigan’s Thumb.
My lesson-planning is rather interesting, as the state is making new foreign language requirements for the class of 2016… but no one knows what they are yet. I told my principal it feels a bit like being told “Be there by 3 o’clock” but being giving no more directions than “head north”.
So I’m reading the anonymous surveys that I gave my students to see what they’d like to do/learn next year. (I think I’ll ignore the “no more tests” and “parties every Friday”.)