Why didn't I think of that before?

It's the start of the school year, so naturally I've got all of my meet the teacher information handy.  Instead of just filing it away (or recycling it), I decided to make four bags of "meet the teacher" information for potential new students.

Inside I included:

My "meet the teacher" flip book (created by Chalk and Apples, a fellow TpT seller.  Snag yours {here})

Parent survey

Student interest survey

Student information sheet

A cactus to color (for the bulletin board)

Social media policy

I sealed all of the information in a ziplock bag and it's ready to go for new students:

 

As an added bonus, I have all my back to school forms ready for next year in one place.

Why didn't I think of this before?

Um...that's not how this works

First, this is not meant as a personal attack on any individual TpT sellers but rather a blanket statement of frustration.

As a TpT seller myself, I work very hard on what I create.  First and foremost, it is created for my students.  I've found some amazing resources on TpT (both free and paid) that I love using in my classroom.  Overall, I have an extremely positive perception of TpT.

There is no review process before people upload products to TpT, which is why feedback from buyers and previews are so crucial.   A vast majority of what I've downloaded or paid for has been exactly as described, for which I'm thankful.

But lately I've noticed a trend on TpT that's a tad irksome.

Sellers are tagging their resources as being appropriate for several different grade levels.

I've also witnessed these products being used at my school.  Teachers will download products that say they're meant for a specific grade (say second), but upon examination, they are actually more of a kindergarten/first grade activity.  That's frustrating and deceptive to teachers.  

I don't think my colleagues want to use materials that are below grade level.  They trust that a passage deemed second grade truly is second grade, but that's not the case.  The material was marked K-2, which meant it was too easy for many of the students.  This happens all the time and teachers are unknowingly using materials that aren't challenging enough for students.  '

The blame is with TpT sellers overtagging their materials.

Now, I am slightly guilty of this because I tag my novel guides in 4th and 5th, despite only teaching fifth grade.

However, many of the novels are focused on Greek Mythology, which is a fourth grade literature standard under the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).   However, The Lightning Thief is used extensively in Jefferson County's long range reading plans, meaning the novel is frequently used as a mentor text in fifth grade.

Further more, these novels (by Rick Riordan) range from 4.6 to 5.3, which corresponds with the 4-5 Lexile band for reading.

Materials within one grade level (K/1, 1/2, 2/3, 4/5, 6-8, etc) tend to be appropriate.


However, reading passages should not be tagged as being K-4 or 2-6 grade appropriate.

 A second grader and a sixth grader should be reading very different passages.  Reading instruction should look very different in kindergarten versus fourth grade.

(I'm referring to materials meant for grade level, tier 1 instruction and not activities designed for intervention/extension (tiers 2 and 3). Whole group instruction should look very different in second grade compared to sixth grade.)

Materials shouldn't be marketed to K-3, because there are great differences between these grades and students' ability levels.  

So, fellow TpT sellers, please stop over tagging products.   An amazing activity for first grade should be labelled as just that, not tagged as something that's also appropriate for fourth graders.

With the upcoming annual sale, shop with caution fellow teachers!

Back to School Schedule

I know I'm ending my summer early.  I've explained my reasons {here} and it's a personal choice I'm making to alleviate some of my anxiety.

I'm fortunate enough to have the flexibility to go in early. I don't have to worry about child care costs and live ten minutes from school, so it's not a big time commitment to run over and work for a few hours.

If we're being totally honest, it will be about three hours of work per day followed by a nap.  

I tend to put on music (or a few movies) and work until it's done.  I'm hoping the pod is relatively empty so I can be productive (and not distract myself with chitchat). 

I did sneak in yesterday during Open Library and set up my tables.  I also noticed I had two extra tables, but we figured out who needed them and the custodians said they'd take care of it.

Here's a rough outline of what I hope to expect during setting up my classroom:

Day 1 (Tuesday, August 1st...theoretically)
1. Hang my bulletin board fabric and spray with wrinkle release if necessary.  I tend to staple the top and let the wrinkles fall out overnight.

I have two classroom bulletin boards and one in the pod.  I'm reusing fabric from last year.  Some of my fabric is an old bed sheet from Goodwill (twin works great), some is fabric from Joann's, and I'm pretty sure some is an old table cloth.  Fabric gets washed over the summer and reused each year if possible.  Unlike paper, fabric doesn't fade over the course of the school year, which is another teacher win.
 
 2. Move furniture (if possible).  Some of my bookcases will cover the bottom part of bulletin boards, so I can't move everything.

3. Set up my teacher desk.

Day 2
1. Finish hanging bulletin boards by stapling the rest of the fabric up.

2. Hang bulletin board borders.  I'm using mesh this year on two of them.  I'm hoping it goes much better than the time I used burlap:

It was beautiful, but it took hours.  HOURS.  Never again.

3. Finish moving furniture. 

4. Hang the net.  Yes, fishing net.  It goes with part of my aquatic theme.

5. Start to organize my library.  When I moved classrooms, I tried to separate books and send the fifth grade books home to live in the garage.  I didn't get to all of the books and just gave up at the end.  I'm sure I'll have some books to weed out that aren't appropriate for third graders.  

I'll also be reorganizing my classroom library.  I probably won't have entire buckets devoted to Number the Stars or The Giver.  Sure, I'll keep a few of each in my library for my higher readers, but the rest will be stored at home in the garage.  Instead, those buckets will house Babysitter's Club books (because I keep finding them for super cheap at Goodwill).  My library needs to match my students' levels.  

I will also use this time to look for any damaged books or ones that need stickers (to match the bins and help the kids know where to return books). 

Day 3

1. Sit on the floor and continue to make piles of books.  
2. Begin to put books in buckets.  Put buckets of books on the book shelves.  Repeat.
3. Make a list of sticker labels to print.

Day 4

1. Hang up bulletin board decor.  Print the lettering for the banner (and stuff into my purse to deal with at home, where there is wine to drink while I cut out letters.)
2. Copy cacti for students to color for our pod bulletin board. 

3. Attempt to find the box that says beginning of the year papers. 
4. Finish classroom library.
5. Unpack my snacks (top desk drawer of my teacher desk is devoted to snacks).

Day 5

1. Copies (before everyone returns)
2. Empty remaining boxes. 
3. Finish setting up technology. 
4. Revise and print new business cards/magnets


We have to return on Wednesday, August 9th.  The kiddos show up on Monday, August 14th. I'd love to be totally done in my classroom before the 9th.  Thanks to our union, we have the 10th to work in our classrooms without meetings.  I'd like to use that time to work on lesson plans and copies. 


In the mean time, I'm working on a bulletin board banner and giant mermaid tale from home.  Home is where the wine is!

My Favorite Time of Day (Day 10 of April's Photography Challenge)

On social media, I uploaded a quick video of my very excited puppy when she learned we were going for a walk.  It's definitely her favorite part of the day.

This, however, was not my favorite part:

I'm renewing my teacher license and getting a lot of conflicting information from the school district and the state department of education.  I drove 20 minutes to get finger printed, only to discover that finger prints must be done after I turn in transcripts to the department of education.  However, the state department of education lists bringing the finger prints and transcripts in when turning in paperwork, thus the conundrum.

Finding myself with extra time to kill, I visited Starbucks before a doctor's appointment.  I made the healthy choice to get an egg white sandwich, but it was entirely unsatisfying and I should have just gotten the blueberry muffin.

The rest of the day went fairly smoothly. I found some cute deals at Home Goods and got one of my favorite two year old's his birthday gift (a basket and different types of balls).  I had lunch with his aunt and cousin to plan a 90th birthday party, and then happily enjoyed a nap.

I've tabled the license situation until June.  I refuse to take a sick day to deal with the licensing department and I've got until the end of August.

Next steps, professionally

Fifth grade is hard.  Three dozen students is hard.  Escalating behaviors because of puberty and the full moon is hard.  Field trips to the local middle school are hard.

Life was hard this week. (Let's be real, month!)

Today my poor guest teacher left three pages of notes about their poor behavior choices.  Yes, pages.  I'm mortified.  I'm finding myself angry at my students most of the time and it's turning me into the type of teacher I don't want to be.  That's devastating, but this group is rough.  This is my third rough year in a row, which doesn't help.  I can't, and won't, keep living with these daily frustrations. 



I've been thinking a lot about my next steps professionally.

I don't see myself being in fifth grade forever.  I'm not quite sure what I want to do next.

The good news is I have some options:

1) I'm considering the two year process of National Board Certification.  

B wants to eventually relocate to Colorado since he's been in Las Vegas his entire life, so it will be nice to have that to follow me.  There's an informational meeting in a few weeks at school and a cohort will be formed, so I won't even go through the entire process alone.  It will be time consuming, but it will also open lots of doors in the future.

2)  I'm considering primary.  Under twenty kids, that like me most of the time, seems like heaven after this week.  It won't be a piece of cake (because teaching never is), but I think second grade seems great.  They aren't learning to be in school for the first time, the educational gaps won't be as large as they are in fifth grade, there are smaller class sizes, and there's no high stakes testing, so I'd be free to do more STEM and creative activities.  I shared my intent with my principal today, so it's free to share out with the general public.

3) I'm also considering getting an endorsement in "blended learning", which means I'd be licensed to teach online school.  We're considering this for when we have kids (definitely a few years down the road).

So many choices.  I want to pursue different venues to keep my options open.  I definitely don't see spending my entire teaching career in the classroom.  

 

Win some, lose some

Unfortunately, it's felt like the latter part of this statement for most of this month...

The spring break countdown has begun!

Permission granted

This is a lesson I continue to struggle with.

We had a busy weekend...as it should be.

Friday

In a constant struggle of me vs my allergies, they won.  There was a ton of dust and pollution in the air on Friday, which wrecked havoc on my sinuses.  So while he went out to softball, I graded all that I could, worked on school work, did laundry, and tidied up the house.

Saturday

The morning started with a walk for Waffles and trying our new yoga work out DVD.  I like it so far! We picked out his groomsmen attire, had a relatively healthy lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, and went to the craft store and Target. I did a little more work before headed out to a dear friend's daughter's sixth birthday party.  There were copious amounts of sugar involved.  Afterwards, me and B met up with some family members to see the Spazmatics, which are an 80s cover band.  It was a fun show with super cheap drinks, but I wasn't used to being up til 2 am.  

Sunday

Without much sleep, we got up and took Waffles up to the snow.  We met up with some friends at the Mt. Charleston lodge and drove up from there.  We had only one minor skid issue, but found a nice chunk of unaltered snow to play in.  Once Waffles discovered she could eat the snow, she was in heaven.  It started gently snowing while we were up there, which was nice and relaxing.  

We stopped by his parents' house to return their tupperware (from Thanksgiving...sorry Mike and Kathy!).  We picked up lunch on the way home and spent the afternoon half-heartedly working and watching Netflix.  Tomorrow is the 100th day of school and while we don't do much in fifth grade, I wanted to set up a selfie station with props in the teachers lounge, which required a gathering of random supplies from my house.  I completed one state in the next region (slated to start this week?), but then a nap occurred...and then the dilemma hit.

Do I plow through and conquer another state?  Or do I enjoy my evening?

I chose the later.  I put forth a good five hours of work between school ending Friday and now.  That's enough.  That's more than enough.

Am I 100% ready for tomorrow? No.  I know what I'm teaching, but I have copies to make and lesson plans to copy & paste into the online server.  

However, instead of stressing, I'm going to take Waffles for a walk with B, paint my toes, and swap out my nails for a new Valentine's themed jammicure.  I'll pack my lunch for the morning, toss my water bottle in the freezer, and get lots of beauty rest.

 

Currently in January

Sigh...January seems to be kicking my caboose.

Reading... Yes Please! I love her shows and her quotes on feminism, so this was a natural purchase.

Playing... the which {Jamberry wraps} shall I wear next game.  There are too many cute ones!

I think love letters is my favorite!
 

Watching... well, listening to New Girl reruns on Netflix.

Trying... to be positive.  This continues to be a struggle at time.

Being a grown up really stinks sometimes.

Cooking... nothing.  We had left overs for lunch and need to make a grocery list and meal plan for the week.

Eating... nothing. I'm hungry, but that could also be task avoidance (because I'm supposed to be doing laundry and working on a states powerpoint).

Drinking..water.  Lots and lots of water.

Calling... no one. I just got off the phone with my mom a little while ago and am seeing B's family later.

Texting...about dinner plans.

Pinning... teaching ideas, always.

Going... to be insanely productive for an hour, then take a nap. I love naps.

Loving...Etsy.  I found my {bridesmaid earrings}:

The seller was amazingly prompt at answering my questions, gave me a discount because I was ordering more than six, and I love that I'm supporting small businesses (because I love when others support mine).
 
I also treated myself to an adorable new make up bag, tulle for our favors, and a few other wedding surprises.  We also found some thank yous that we love and our cake topper.  I just need to spread out my wedding expenses. 

Hating... the uncertainty game.  Will my masters +32 be honored with a pay raise? Will the classes be released so I can take the last one at UNLV by May? Will I have to jump through hoops? Will I have to appeal the process? Will I have to join the union to have a better chance at it being approved? Is that even legal?

Discovering... Etsy's wedding section. Oh vey. It's amazing.

Thinking... about the lesson plans I should put into curriculum engine.  We have to post our lesson plans...and it's the last thing I want to do.

Feeling... like I can never catch up. 

Hoping (for)...a drama free dinner.

Listening (to)...Neflix...and Waffles snoring.

Celebrating... progress on wedding planning.  Oh, and that the Cardinals play the Panthers tomorrow.  Regardless of the outcome, they've had an amazing season.

Smelling... nothing. Thank you allergies.

Thanking... B for being so patient and picking up dinner.

Considering... trying to find a job that lets me craft things, read books, plan weddings, and drink mimosas while wearing pajamas and/or yoga pants.  Where is that job?

Starting... to realize I have to make wedding decisions, for real, soon.  More immediately though, thinking of ideas to turn our pod into Africa for multicultural week... (#elementaryproblems)

Finishing... Virginia, then West Virginia, then a test, then starting the next (FINAL) region.

Goal One: Organization

It's a new year and for most of us, that means new resolutions and a fresh start.

I'm not quite ready to sift through my thoughts in terms of resolutions, but I will share one:

Be more organized.

I struggle, at times, to stay organized.  I have the best intentions, but follow through can be tricky.  I'm working on it!

But, I've already made a few significant gains in this area!

First, I bought a {new calendar} and put all the crucial dates on it (math trainings, days off, our wedding, and so forth). 

More importantly, I showed B where it is (same place as last year) and asked him to write his extra commitments on it instead of just telling me.  I also made sure pens are nearby, so there's no excuse!

There were lots of cute options, but I went with the cheapest and smallest...still fun! I'm trying to be considerate of his feelings and not have polka dots on everything we own...

I think part of my struggle with calendars and planners is which option to go with.  It seems silly, but it's a debate in my mind each year if I want to organize my life from January to December or August to July.  I think I've finally settled on January through December for the house, and August to July for my school calendar.  I always tend to fall in love with new planners in January, but I'm not going to get a new one for half of a school year.

Teacher problems, people!

Also, I realized my gift wrapping containers were getting a little full, which brings me to my second area of organization: the guest bedroom.

See, I save gift bags and reuse them.  I stock up on gift bags and wrapping paper after the holidays when it's on sale.  I'm also not ashamed to snag cute bags when they're on sale, because I hate spending full price on wrapping supplies.

So, yesterday I bought this gem at Target (save $5 when you spend $25!)

...and used it to organize my gift wrapping supplies this morning.  The top drawer has gift labels (which I love finding cute options in the Dollar Spot), the middle is assorted tissue paper, and the bottom is for bags and gift boxes.  

The whole project took about ten minutes, but I feel so much better now!

Task three: the fridge

After returning from vacation, we threw away left overs and half-used jars (mostly sauces).  I looked up new crockpot recipes on pinterest, made a grocery list, and we went shopping.  We're trying to eat healthier and try new foods (more on those resolutions later), so this was the first step.

Our fridge is not packed full of food.  There is what we plan to eat for the next few days and lots of fresh fruits (bananas, pineapple) and veggies.  We stocked our freezer and pantry, but the fridge will be about half full.  We want to do a better job at making sure we eat what we buy.

I'll spend the next few days slowly putting Christmas and winter decorations away.  I'll tidy up the house as I go.  My desk at work is a little scary when I think about it, but that's a Monday morning problem!

I'm excited to start the year organized!  

What are some of your new years resolutions?

Class Size Inequalities

December is one of the times that class size inequalities really, really stinks.

We are in the process of scheduling parent-teacher conferences, which in itself is a nightmare.  We are granted 1 Monday off for conferences and expected to stay late one evening (as one of our contracted times).  Morning meetings are cancelled...but that actually doesn't leave enough time slots for all my kids.  The hour lunch I'm supposed to have on Monday (since I don't have prep) isn't happening.  I had to schedule conferences and work with other teachers.  Lots of my students have siblings and we try to schedule their conferences as close together as possible to make it easier for families.

 The school district does not give me the time needed to meet with my thirty six students and their families.  Logistically, I've been giving an impossible task if I was to stick to only my contracted, paid hours yet expected to meet the goal of 100% participation rate. 

So I have to come in early each day.  I have to stay late.  I love my students and their families, so I'm flexible with staying late for some evening conferences to  accommodate  their work schedules.  

A good part of winter break will be spent compiling data for report card comments (and again, writing three dozen of them takes a while.  We don't have drop down menus with pre-selected comments.)

None of this is financially compensated.  The more I talk to non-teachers, the more I'm horrified that there's a myth teachers are paid overtime for this sort of work.  Do any of you work in a magical district where this occurs? What I'm feeling in this district is that more and more demands are placed on me as an educator, while my pay and benefits are actually and financially shrinking.

This is one of the times where class size inequalities really, really stinks.

Primary grades (K-2) and third grade have around eighteen to twenty students.  Completely doable within the allotted time parameters.  Upper elementary?  Where each class is approaching forty students?  Not doable in the allotted time frame provided by the district.

But we'll get it done.  We'll stay late. We'll be flexible.  We support our students and their families, so we make the sacrifice of time with our own families to meet with our students.  Our administration is amazingly supportive, but the district officials who make these decisions without processing if it is actually feasible for a classroom? Shame on them.

Progress Reports

I send home progress reports at least once a month.  I teach in an inclusion classroom, which means there is usually a special education teacher in the room with me during core subjects of reading, writing, and math. 

Students get lots of time to ask questions and work with each other.

Students are allowed to retake any summative assessment before or after school.  Summatives are end of unit summaries that make up 90% of their grades.  The other 10% comes from formative quizzes throughout the unit.  I use these quick checks, exit tickets, and quizzes to pull small groups and reteach.

Progress reports are meant to serve as a check in point to show parents where their students are at.

But...then there are the replies, the emails, and the phone calls.

Some responses say "I'm worried, how can I help at home?"  which are wonderful! I post review videos and stay after to work with students.  Those families acknowledge that it's a partnership between home and school.  

But then...there are other types of responses.

"Please help ___". 

"Can you explain what ___ is doing wrong?" 

"Why don't you work with ___ in class?"

"What extra credit can ___ do?"

"Why is ____ getting a C in ____? The last test was an A. Are you grading right?" (The first two tests were Fs, so the A brought the overall grade up to a C.  That wasn't a sufficient response.)

One, I do my best to help every student. Every day. I do my best to work with them in small groups and individually, every day. I pull small groups.  Other teachers pull small groups. They have extra review opportunities online available at any point.

It's frustrating (and a bit insulting) when parents don't realize I'm doing everything possible to help their students.

But when students don't read or follow directions? When they don't ask questions? When they skip entire pages on the test? When they zone out during an entire lesson, draw pictures, talk to their neighbor, then complain they don't get it...it's frustrating.  

At what point do students start owning their grades?  At what point do I stop becoming the bad guy?

Biting my tongue only works for so long

Quite frankly, the school district is a bit of a hot mess right now.  The most frustrating part is I don't know who to direct my anger towards.  Is it the superintendent and his cabinet for mismanaging funds? Is it the board of trustees? (One is an incompetent ignoramus who had the audacity to enter our school and tell fifth graders that the goal in life was to be rich and have lots of friends.  Petitions are circling to get this person recalled.)  Or should I be mad at teachers health trust? The union?

I know the one group I'm not upset about is my fellow teachers.  While I can't speak for all educators, but the ones I'm blessed to work with are some of the most passionate and dedicated educators.  They are there early, stay late, and reach into their own hearts (and wallets) to provide what their students need the most.

In one of the teacher support groups I'm in, I found this rather frustrating post.

I do not know the author in person and for that, I am grateful.  She's been rather hostile and aggressive towards other teachers, which serves no purpose other than fanning the flames of anger.

Her post:

"I ran into a nice kid yesterday who told me he hoped to get his degree and then apply to be a TFA. TFA is a scam. Please warn your friends and neighbors about this trap. It would be much easier for aspiring teachers and better for kids if the leader in the at-risk classroom was prepared.  Please forward to anyone who is considering this move and warn them."  

Below it, she attached a rather biased and negative opinion piece.  

Normally, I move on from these sorts of things. I try to take the high ground. I try not to engage with the irrational.

However, I've had enough.  Biting my tongue only works for so long.

Here was my response: 

"Don't paint all TFA teachers, or ARL teachers, with the same brush. As a TFA alum who's on year seven in the classroom, I take offense to my non-traditional career path being called a trap and a scam. Teaching isn't easy, period. Name calling and pitting teachers against one another doesn't make the situation better. Why not band together and inspire one another? Not all students have the same background, so why not embrace that teachers have diverse backgrounds too?"

So far, I've only received positive replies and other teachers mentioning the great work that the TFA teachers have done in their buildings.  Turns out, spreading positive vibes and emphasizing diversity as a positive attribute is more well received by the public then rage-filled vents that seek only to hurt others' feelings.

Yes, teaching is quite frustrating at times.  Low pay and a lack of respect don't help.  But when teachers start bashing other teachers, how does that make the situation any better?

Instead, I choose to spread good vibes.  I hope this rather angry teacher finds something positive to share with others.  Being irate all the time isn't the way to live.

Dozens

Lots of items come in sets of dozens.  

Roses. Eggs. Muffins. Donuts. Soda (and beer). Pencils.

As of tomorrow, my students will fall into this category.  

Number thirty six comes tomorrow. It's easiest to say I've got three dozen students.

It's getting a bit crowded in room 71.

How big are your class sizes?

Proud

I previously {shared a letter} that my coworker, Erika Barber, penned and sent to the governor, the superintendent, the state senators, the board of trustees, and local media outlets.

She was invited to appear on John Ralston's show on Vegas PBS.  Her nerves got the best of her, so two other coworkers (and a third teacher I have no relationship with) appeared on the show.

View {here}.

I've never been more proud of some of my friends.  Teressa and Rob remained calm, didn't place blame, but firmly shared the unfortunate facts of this depressing scenario.

It's not just about the repeated pay cuts and increased wages.

It's not just about the increased class sizes and responsibilities. 

It's not just about the ridiculously high number of substitutes in the classroom.

It's not just about the misinformation we receive from those who are supposed to support us.

It's not just about the unfair allocation of funds.  Why do new, out of state hires get a hiring bonus while everyone else takes a pay cut?

It's not just about teachers who are single parents needing to get second jobs to afford health insurance for their dependents, while married teacher couples pay nothing for their families.


It's about the unfair treatment of teachers.  I am a professional, with college degrees, and don't think fair compensation for my work is asking too much.  

Our next Rally for Respect will be at 8 am on 11/25. I'm hoping it won't be so ridiculously cold outside.  I'm also hoping parents stand with us. 

Enough is enough.

We're in a crisis here in our school district.  There's a lot of name calling and dishonesty over funds.  One of my coworkers penned this letter and is sending it into all the newspapers in addition to the board of trustees, but it's worth sharing here:

"CCSD Board of Trustees,

I am writing to you today on behalf of many fellow teachers who share similar concerns regarding the salary freezes, PERs cuts, salary schedule and the meager monetary contribution to our health care.

Perhaps the most troubling problem we have run in to is the failure on the part of CCSD board members to answer emails, return phone calls and address these issues with us. The lack of transparency about why and how decisions are made with respect to appropriated funds for education is appalling. The public sees the budget set aside by legislators for education and they assume it goes to pay raises for teachers, contributions to health care and investments into retirement plans. What they don't see is where the money ends up after the board has reallocated the funds to other areas.

Your failure to use Clark County's education budget to give teachers a respectable salary, contribute fairly to their health care costs and invest in their futures by contributing sufficiently to PERs is unacceptable. Your mission statement, "All students progress in school and graduate prepared to succeed and contribute in a diverse global society" should be considered at the very least unsupported, if not unrealistic considering the lack of reinforcement given to the people who actually make your vision a reality. Your priorities are undeniably out of order when there is a teacher shortage and yet decisions are made that make the profession less and less desirable. We are losing teachers and degrading the ones who stay. Many of us have to reconsider whether we can AFFORD to be teachers!
The blame is aimed at us when the community reads the data about graduation rates and test scores. The demand to improve this situation is placed on us. The insults and negative attitudes about Nevada's educators are directed toward us. The burden to do it all, while barely making enough money to buy groceries and pay for health care is placed on us.

Now we are all facing some big changes. Changes to our health care system and, as a result of salary freezes and health care costs rising, for many of us this may be our financial undoing.

Some of the board members may read this and maybe none of you will. The consensus among CCSD teachers is that you do not care. You attend events and thank us. You shake our hands and tell us that we are appreciated. You smile for photos with students that we work with, educate and care for everyday. Our students. Our works of art.

Now it is time for you to show us that we are appreciated. Smiles, visits and handshakes are great. Keep them coming, along with the salary increases our union respectfully requests, restoration of our PERs cuts, a larger contribution to our health care costs (a contribution comparable to that of other employers), compensation for our continued education that we obtained to help ready every child for graduation (we invested with the expectation that we were investing in a better income), compensation for our years of experience, and some basic sense of security and respect from the CCSD board of trustees!

Sincerely,

Erika Barber"

I added my name to this list.  As of posting time, over 120 other educators have signed as well.

She contacted one of our state senators.  The rather rude response was the implication she was fabricating and that these other names were either falsified or she lacked permission to sign their names.  This is not the case, at all.  

Did you think that one through?

One of our back to school surprises from our administration was new electronic pencil sharpeners.

Secretly, I was thrilled.  My one last year was broken by a student (yes, he did it on purpose) and I really didn't want to buy another.

We were gifted with these:

However, while it looks nice in my classroom:

It's beyond impractical.

This is the plastic portion that holds pencil shavings:

That's it.  I can sharpen maybe four pencils before it's time to dump it and start over.  In an elementary classroom with three dozen students (yes, you read that correctly), this is just silly.  The capacity is ridiculously small.  

Bostitch, did you think the design through on this?  What teacher sharpens only four pencils at a time?!

I miss my old sharpener:

If you're upgrading classroom supplies, don't upgrade to this product.  The only upside I see is that it was a gift.

Currently in November

Reading... The Sword of Summer.  I've got to meet my {challenge} and not wear Denver Broncos attire (gasp, the horror!). I'll also be reading 31 essays this afternoon and chapter 1 of my book for my most recent grad class.

Playing... "give" with Waffles.  She's found a sock. We just got done playing tag. 

Watching... Nothing. My brain, despite it being a weekend, still decided to wake up early.

Trying... to decide what {Jamberry design} to do next with my nails! I rocked a solid purple for about two weeks, so thinking maybe it's time for a pattern.

Cooking... nothing.  We've got premade shredded chicken for sandwiches for lunch and I haven't decided what will be for dinner.

Eating... nothing. I don't like to eat when I first wake up.  Plus I'm multi-tasking with work and eating right next to the laptop is frowned upon.

Drinking... nothing, that would require getting up from my work fort at the table.

Calling... friends later.  It's been far too long.

Texting... no one. It's far too early to contact anyone. I will be texting work wives later, but at an acceptable hour.

Pinning... teaching ideas, always.

Tweeting... gosh, about nothing! It's been a while since I've been on instagram and twitter.

Going... to nap later. There is most definitely a nap in my future.

Loving... how smart my puppy is! She's going to graduate from obedience school soon and just learned "place" this week.  She's got a special blanket that we'll take with us to dog parks and that's her safe zone.

Hating... that the students got a five day weekend and I only got a three day weekend.  The next two days will be staff development days...and my excitement level is about a zero because I anticipate a lot of wasted time and no new information.

Discovering... subtle connections between Riordan's books.  This man is a genius. I also get irrationally angry at him for what he does to characters.

Thinking... about that nap.  Goodness I love naps.

Feeling... a bit chilly and loving it.  We're finally experiencing fall temperatures, so the air is off and the back door is open.  The cats are loving getting to smell outside through the security door.

Hoping (for)... an easy fix for my car.  She's going into Carmax tonight because the center console is displaying low tire pressure, despite tire gauges reading differently.  It's under warranty, but I hate being without a car.

Listening (to)...a quiet house.  B and the animals are sleeping, which leaves me to be productive without distractions.

Celebrating... it's November.  How'd that happen?

Smelling... nothing. Thank you allergies.

Thanking... a lot of things. I'm trying to 

Considering... options. Teaching is hard. Teaching where there's an attitude of disrespect and blame is even harder.  I'm not talking about my school specifically because it's amazing, but this entire district doesn't value veteran teachers.  It's hard to be passionate about my job when my district doesn't treat professionals with respect.  I shouldn't have to fight each year to keep the raise I earned.  I shouldn't get pay cuts while new teachers get bonuses.  I shouldn't be continually asked to do more, with more students, for less money and less benefits.  We are reaching a tipping point very, very soon.  The next rally for teachers will be on November 10th (payday) before contracted time.  Over eighty schools participated last month and with the union and district going to arbitration, again, even more are angry (rightfully so).

Starting... to grasp this "daylight savings time" situation.  As someone who spent her first two decades in Arizona, the whole change yo' clocks thing is still a bit weird.

Finishing... grading.  It's an endless, daunting task.  Then finishing lesson plans.  Sigh.

What are YOU up to currently?