Establishing Routines
It’s really hard to go back to school and get into the feeling of having a routine.
Because I’m a special education teacher, my job is not at all like a classroom teacher’s. I move from classroom to classroom, going somewhere new every forty five minutes. The first three periods of the day are the same Monday through Friday, but then things start to change and I have to keep a schedule with me so I know where I’m going and what I’ll be doing when I get there.
I often joke that I need to strap on rollerblades as I’m zipping from one end of the building to another.
The stairs might be tough though.
What does happen, at least at the start of the year, is that I’m physically wiped out, as well as mentally wiped out. I rush around to get to each room, then have to quickly shift gears and adapt to a new teacher’s style and routine, as well as the needs of the kids I need to be working with in that room.
The teacher’s think it’s a pain to have my kids in their classes as they have the potential to "hold the other students back", and it’s even more of a pain to have me come in because they ARE supposed to stick to a specific subject area if I’m there.
Half of them can’t be bothered with that, and the rest are pretty good about trying to do what they’re supposed to.
It’s a fine line I walk, the key to which is flexibility and not getting freaked out when I go in for reading and they’re doing science.
Some days I find it very frustrating because I know certain teachers are doing it on purpose, to defy what they’re supposed to do.
I bite my tongue and move on, but won’t defend them if the parents have a concern.
I actually went to a meeting about the chorus show tonight. My walking out in a huff and not returning for the last four weeks did the job. All the decisions we originally made and the concept we originally chose are back in place.
And in looking at the choices we made and the mockups of what we’re going to use for programs etc., our decisions were correct.
Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow and the four-day weekend ahead of me.
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