8 Minutes. My pal Jenny-Mac figured out that this is how much time the teachers at our school have to plan each lesson we teach for a day of elementary school. (On average I teach 6 lessons a day.) But I don't take 8 minutes, I do what it takes, which is much more than 8 minutes. What that means, however, is that I regularly work 10-11 hour days. I get paid for 7 hours. I don't get bonuses or comp time, or even a free cup of coffee in the morning. Why do I do it? I want the students to have the best I can possibly offer...and I really like working with kids. They are crazy.
Recently I got a cryptic hand-written note in my classroom mailbox from a kid. It looked kind of like this (wishing I had a scanner!):
"Thre was a flyd in th pllens"
When I first read this scrawl from the 8-year-old I thought it said, "There was a fly on the lens". I figured he was explaining why most of my students were distracted at the end of the day when their homework was listed on the overhead projector (thus the "lens" part). I showed this note to my colleague Donna, knowing that her 40 years of teaching experience makes her a master code-breaker. I knew that she could confirm or refute my attempt at decoding. I handed her the note and, without missing a beat she said, "Oh...there was a flood in the Philippines".
Yes, that was it! Turns out the boy has family in the Philippines and wanted to make sure I knew about the recent flood there.
The best part about this kid is that he always has a smile on his face and is an easy target for my juvenile antics in the classroom. And to top it off, just the other day I realized who he reminds me of. Seriously. He is Bill from the series "King of the Hill"! (but without the beer in his hand and the hair on his chest, I presume) He has similar mannerisms, speech patterns, and a general "happy-go-lucky" demeanor. Sometimes, when I'm having a rough time of it, I just look at "Bill" and remember that it's all gonna work out fine.
After all, I've only got 8 minutes per lesson to save the world (even though that's twice what Madonna and Justin had).
3 comments:
8 Min. Now I know why I never do those calculations.
It is sad to realize exactly what we are dealing with! Crazy. I hate to say this, but middle/high school is much easier on the planning. I don't know that I can ever switch back to elementary. You have my sympathy and empathy!
Hey Mia...I didn't specifically SAY this kid was Filipino, so, you see, there is a subtle resemblance after all!
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