Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Excessive Heat Warning

No wonder Mr. Cook decided not to come in to work today. Room 401 South is hotter than the surface of a microwaved gas station burrito, but the classroom doesn't share the burrito's icy cold center.

The fact that schools without air-conditioning are forced to open in the middle of the hottest month of the year should be an indicator that the American educational system has truly lost its way. Apparently no amount of Masters Degrees and Doctorates can convince the bigwigs at the Board of Education that it's usually pretty fucking hot in August.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Next

I spent days 2-5 of the new school year working in the book room with Ms. Fanning. Together we checked out over 4,000 textbooks. With the long lines and finicky bar code scanners it was a lot like my short stint working as a supermarket checker.

This was my first assignment, in three years of subbing, to fill a position other than 'classroom teacher.' It was an important first step. One day I'll get the call to sub for the elevator operator, or god willing, a school security officer. My fingers are crossed.

Monday, August 20, 2007

New School Year Day 1

Monday, August 20th 2007. I lumber groggily back into the lives of St. Louis's youth.

I got a call late last week to ensure my presence at The Gateway Institute of Technology bright and early Monday morning. Sunday night I packed my book bag with reading materials, a water bottle and change for the snack machine. I was in bed snoozing before the end of the late local news.

In the St. Louis Public Schools summer vacation lasts for at least two weeks after the first tardy bell is rung. The first week is spent trying to get students into a school building, then out of the hallways, then into a classroom by any means necessary. The second week is spent checking to see if any of the students happened to land in the building and classroom where they actually belong.

Having already learned this pertinent info about the start of the school year, I know not to be too ambitious about academics on the first few days of school. My goal for the first week is to try to get comfortable being awake between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and noon.