August is Bitter Sweet

Hollywood often remakes reality and makes in not so much reality anymore. I always grit my teeth when I watch a movie where an actor/actress plays the role of a teacher. Every single time the teacher enters the classroom for the first time on the first day of school the class is completely set up. The desks are all arranged, the walls are decorated, the students have books...etc. I don't know what type of custodial staff they think we have, but it just doesn't work that way.

The girls are spending the next two nights with their dad. So I decided (after getting in a 7 mile solo run in) to go into work to start getting ready for the school year. My room was such a disaster. This is my 9th year in this building and it will be my 4th classroom. I walked in to find everything: student desks, teachers desks (there were two of those), chairs (there were 50- how many kids do they think are going in there?), bookshelf and tables all in the middle of the floor stacked on top of one another. I spent three hours moving furniture. It is finally to the point where all the furniture is in place, but I will need to go back in tomorrow to work on unpacking supplies and putting things up on the walls. Today and tomorrow are the best time to do it while the girls are off. They like to go to my room, but often end up taking out all kinds of things and it makes twice the work.

I think the Hollywood version of teaching drives me nuts because it short changes all those hours we put in before the kids even enter the building. My arms are going to be sore in the morning!