A Day in the Life... of an English Teacher

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I recently read an article in the Washington Post that talked about how many people don't really understand what teachers do. So many people think it's all about getting the summers off, a cozy retirement, union protection, and taking off at 3pm most days (although there are many that legitimately appreciate and respect the profession, and I thank those). Are there perks? Heck yes. Is it hard? Yes, if you're trying to do a good job (like any profession there are those that do not, I know). I think for me, teaching is the most demanding for three reasons: there is just so much to grade (1 essay = 4 minutes x one for every student = 400 minutes, or almost 7 hours), I think about the kids all the time (allowing them to email me at all hours of the day doesn't help), and the pressure in terms of adhering to policies and changes is constant.

I've been toying with this idea, a "day in the life" post, for awhile, part of me thinking it would be an interesting reflection piece, hopefully encourage others to do the same,* and allow me to take a a good, hard look at how I spend my time (I should do a follow-up one in a year to see how things look differently with an infant and job). The other part of me thinks it's self-indulgent and unnecessary. But then I remembered that's I write a book blog, not one on curing cancer. So, here we are! I hope you're prepared for how exciting my life is.

Prep for Monday on Saturday and Sunday:

- Aprx. 1 hour finishing lesson plans

- Aprx. 4 hours making an itty-bitty dent in my grading

- Aprx. 2 hours on yearbook edits  

- Aprx. 1 hour on letters of rec and answering emails (legitimate ones, not from the kids that are just being conversational)

Monday

5:50-6:30- Wake up, get ready, feed self and dogs (my first thoughts every day when the alarm goes off is some sort of profanity- I am not a morning person).

6:30-6:55- Commute (rock out to my normal mix of Rhianna, Led Zepplin, Lady Gaga and Tom Petty)

6:55-7:30- Enter the grades for the things I worked on yesterday. Answer the door for students that use my classroom as a closet during the day, leaving their sports bags and heavy textbooks. Reply to emails.

7:30-8:28 (first period)- I've given up my first period prep to help tutor students who are at risk for failing the high school exit exam for the next three weeks and today is the first day. We are paid an hourly rate for this, so it's not quite out of the goodness of my heart. I need a Fitbit and my baby needs [insert one of ten billion things here].

Generally, when I'm not doing this, I spend the fifty-eight minutes grading, copying, running to the ASB office on yearbook related tasks, planning, and answering emails. 

9:35-10:41 (second period)- I teach my AP students about a new type of essay that they're working on, the synthesis essay (and argumentative essay that requires them to evaluate different sources that they will incorporate into their writing as evidence). We read a few of the sources together and fill out a graphic organizer- they have the last ten minutes of the period to do one on their own. Over the course of the next week we'll "put the essay together" as a class before they're expected to start working on their own.

10:48-11:45 (third period)- My IB seniors come in and we work on in-depth character analysis for Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. This is by far my most boisterous group (lovable 90% of the time), and they're super wound up today because they're starting some Spanish IB testing. The kids are divided into small groups and each receive a character that they are to become an "expert" on, based on some guiding questions I had already given them. After fifteen minutes of discussing and collaborating they walk around the room, filling in a graphic organizer based on quick interviews with other "experts" (whatever they don't get to his homework). The last five minutes of the period are spent on a quick character quiz with questions they should have addressed during the period ("Who is a foil for Okonkwo and why?" "Describe Ikemefuna and Nwoye's relationship and describe Okonkwo's perception of both characters"). I roam the room and make sure no one is doing work for other classes, copying straight from other peoples' notes, or are screwing around on their phones. They sound pretty smart today, so I tell them. They ask if they sound dumb the rest of the time and I shrug my shoulders and raise my eyebrows. We all love each other very much (joking aside, we actually sort of do).

11:53-11:51 (fourth period)- Yearbook starts off with me giving a stern lecture (I think I said the word "crap" a few times... obviously I mean business and am pretty pissed) on the fact that we have fourteen days until our final deadline and that they need to get it together. I pull up a couple of pages that have been half-assed and let the class know that whatever groups fail to meet their given deadlines with decent submission won't get anything better than a C- for the semester. Everyone gets to work and I start being nice again. I really, really hate being a hard-ass, but we're getting down to the wire and some of them have been slacking (it's like this every year and we pull it off, so I'm not too worried when push comes to shove). I spend the rest of the period editing pages, working with kids to improve and finalize what they've done, and emailing the yearbook plant to finalize the cover, which we've had a few rounds of edits on.

11:51-12:25- Lunch! Yup, we get less than forty minutes to ourselves. I have two friends that generally come eat in my room, which gives us an opportunity to talk to adults and complain as necessary.

12:33-1:31 (fifth period)- IB English again, so same as above.

1:38-2:36 (sixth period)- IB English again.

2:43-3:41 (seventh period)- I tutor for an extra period in the afternoon (I am paid at an hourly rate). 

3:45-4:20- Commute (listen to The Nerdist podcast with Christina Ricci, who is super weird and pretty awesome).

4:20-5:00- Feed dogs, have a snack, and sit on the couch reading blogs (I used to read my book but now get too sleepy after driving and eating... I blame the baby). Technically, this time is probably know as "dicking around."

5:00-5:30- Make the batter for the cookies I'm taking to tomorrow's staff meeting. Every time I bake I swear I'm going to not make a mess- it never happens. 

5:30-6:00- The dogs start glaring at me, as we're officially thirty minutes late for their walk, so we head out for a half an hour (I'm pretty proud to still be doing this at 30 weeks pregnant- we're talking 150+ pounds of dog, one of which who is scared constantly scared and the other who wants to investigate everything). I've been listening to A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and it's finally getting to the good part- she's been kidnapped in Somalia.

6:00-6:35- Hop on the treadmill for some more exercise (I try to get an hour, or 10,000 steps total, a day). I do a hill program while reading In Style, answering student emails on my phone, and looking at the Pinterest app. Do some brief, light weights.

6:35-7:15- Grade papers. 

7:15-8:00- Make dinner, clean up kitchen, may my lunch for tomorrow, eat once husband gets home at 7:45.

8:00-9:30- Bake cookies, grade more papers, answer student emails, write a letter of rec, attempt to spend time with husband.

9:30-10:30- Shower, read for a bit, go to sleep

Pretty typical, minus the cookies (usually I'd probably do some more reading or cleaning their place). I also don't always grade quite so much, but I'm a bit behind. I try to multi-task as much as possible and have a to-do list every afternoon (I know, control-freak much?). Once yearbook is wrapped up things will be a lot less stressful, but for the next two weeks I'm screwed 

Everyone is busy, no matter what career you choose, whether you have kids or dogs, live alone or are married. Teachers make it home an hour or two before everyone else, but most of us take a lot of work home with us. I know there are a lot of teachers who do more than I do at home, and some who do less. I think (?) I'm somewhere in the middle.

*Do it! Write one of your own! I think it would be awesome to read how other bloggers spend their time and handle their careers. Make sure to leave your link in your comments if you do, so we can all be nosy together. 

A Rant Before Bedtime

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I'm Googling a little obsessively lately and it's occurred to me that information, both correct and incorrect, is just too readily available on the Internet. This isn't the first time I've had this thought, it's just resonating today. We don't have to work for information anymore, we don't have to talk to anyone, we don't have to go anywhere. Just today I managed to find some herbal remedies for a medical condition I've diagnosed myself with, selected a new camera to buy for yearbook, decide on a new recipe for dinner, start a web page program for my students, check if Barnes and Nobles carries a book at the store so I can look at it before I order it on Amazon, and see what my electric bill is so far this month (don't ask). I'm not kidding- all between the hours of five and seven.

It's just too much. There aren't any surprises anymore, the concept of mystery and wondering becomes completely irrelevant at the press of a button. Our experts have turned into faceless beings that claim sufficient knowledge- instead of making the time to create a connection we ask the source that's open and all too ready to help, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all for the low price of an internet connection. 

Once upon a time, back when I was twelve, I was doing a project on the Hetch-Hetchy project in Northern California for science and had to request past newspapers from the circulation desk at the public library.They went downstairs to the archive and brought back bundles of newsprint.

Once upon a time, back when I was ten and wanting to figure out when my favorite used bookstore, Yesterday's Books, opened on a Saturday morning I had to pull out the phone book, look up the number, and call for the information.

Once upon a time, back when I was seven, I had to do a report on astronaut Sally Ride. I went to the library and looked up the information in a card catalog, jotting down the call numbers for the relevant books with tiny pencils on scratch paper thoughtfully cut into small squares by librarians. 

Once upon a time, when I was six, I accidentally said the "N-word" because I was looking up different locations on a globe, learning how to use latitude and longitude. Unfortunately, there was a little African American boy in the group and the whole situation ended up with me crying. Wait to set me up for failure, Niger.

Bottom line- we used to have to work for our information. There was a sense of satisfaction that was gained after a long afternoon in the library with notes scribbled in my Trapper Keeper (what what) and fresh copies made from the machine I pumped dimes into (there is nothing more adult-like to a middle schooler than using a copier without an adult). I don't feel that way after hours spent at my dining room table with my bleary eyes glued to my computer's screen.

Side note: Did you know that card catalogs are now nifty DIY sort of projects that upcyclers love to distress and put in their homes? They use the drawers for their kid's crap or their office supplies. Would I balk at having one in my front room? Hell no (in fact I kind of want one now...), but you can bet one drawer would have some actual cards in it. 

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But, on the other hand, this whole "information at your fingertips" monster is terribly efficient. The things I was able to do this afternoon would have taken me several hours worth of phone calls and appointments if I hadn't had the ability to look them up on the Internet. I'm a busy woman and there are only so many hours in a day. I've got shit to do. Lots and lots of shit. 

But, back to the other hand, the romance is gone. This whole technological revolution is like an old, boring marriage- we've been together awhile and I'm becoming nostalgic for the days prior to we vowed to stick together forever. Technology gives me what I want but doesn't challenge me- we don't fight anymore, we don't try anything new. Every night all we do is Google with the lights off.

I could start making massive parallels to our society, and how this is indicative of a larger epidemic- the laziness that is today's people. But I won't. This diatribe is nothing new, we've heard this song before. And I'll be honest- while I'm sitting here pining away for the days of yesteryear I know very well that I'm not going to change. I'll check Facebook when I'm done typing this, peek at my email, and glance at the weather so I know what to wear tomorrow. I'll continue lusting after the iPhone 5 and and iPad, and will forever use technology as a way to communicate. Despite all this I can still think it's sad. Maybe Siri will know what to do. 

Late, Tired, and Wordy

Lake Tahoe, CA

This past week and a half have been busy, to say the least. A few thoughts:

- I went to IB training (IB is basically an international, "whole student" approach version of AP, to make a long story short) in Lake Tahoe last weekend and was amazed by how beautiful, useful, and fun it was (fun was thanks to the colleagues, not necessarily the sessions). I truly appreciated the intelligence of the other attendees and how well-read the English teachers were. I kept a list of book suggestions mentioned during the classes to someday buy. Such a great experience. I can't wait until next school year.

- This weekend I went to Vegas and it was far from literary. I brought my book and read 0.0 pages. There's something about car rides and cabanas that is much more conducive to magazine reading. 

- I am failing miserably at the Don DeLillo project. Time to amp it up- I can't fail again. If I read a hundred pages a day I'd have it done before I go out of town next...

-  I received the ARC for new Victor Lavalle book, The Devil in Silver. I have absolutely no idea what it's about and don't give a crap- Big Machine was so fantastic it wouldn't even make a difference. I also have Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carole Rifka Brunt, which has received some excellent praise so far (I think it's been released, though, so my ARC is a little less-advanced). I do need to stop requesting books; I have plenty and keep feeling the itch to buy a few that I've been eying.

- I think some people sometimes take this blog too seriously; they decide I'm this crazy person and like to decide that I'm automatically mad if they decide to read, say, Fifty Shades of Gray. This blog is for fun, folks! Do we automatically assume the narrator of a novel is in fact the author's voice? The speaker of a poem the poet? Yes, I do feel strongly about quality literature, but the 75% of my blogs are labeled with the tag "being over-dramatic" for a reason. I just get enthusiastic. So, anyway, if you admit to reading less-than-literary fiction to me I may tease you, but seriously, I have bigger things in my life to worry about than what you read. Like world peace.

By the way, this isn't rooted in some sort of confrontation, or anything. The people that really know me know better. I wish I could report on some sort of juicy fight I had with someone where I started yelling at them about the literary merit of Oscar Wilde, but alas, not so much.

- I am done with Summer Academy, meaning I'm done with my daily readings of the high school biology book. Like I've said, it was a good experience in the sense that I now know I can teach science and survive, but it definitely made me miss teaching English. This was probably apparent when I assigned an essay to the poor biology students... sorry, guys. Now I can finally enjoy my summer and recharge for next school year.