There was a time - long ago and far away in what feels like another galaxy - that teachers would get random days off or teacher work days to actually catch up and do work in our classrooms. The students got the day off to play and rest, teachers got the day to do some filing, go out to eat with our peers, grade papers, plan lessons, you know, teacher stuff. Those days are completely gone.
For some reason, the overpaid powers that be in the central office have decided they must justify their jobs by assigning teachers MORE to do, add more to our plates, and then make us do more than we already have time to do. And then, after usurping our "teacher workday" with a bunch of crappy sessions that are completely irrelevant to our content areas, feeding (or not feeding) us badly planned meals, sending us to the school farthest away from our own adding to our frustration level earlier in the morning than we might normally be driving to work - we get to blog about it, search for a google doc to rate, rank or rant about what a horrible day we had. Then we get to go back to work unprepared, annoyed and unrested from a frustrating day of nothing importantness.
All of this has taken the fun out of being a teacher. Heaven forbid we should LIKE our jobs. I used to love my job. And most days when I actually get to teach, have a planning period, get to sit at my desk and grade a few papers, actually think about what my students have accomplished on a given day, had a 25 minute lunch break with my peers, I do still like my job. Unfortunately, those days are few and far between.
For some reason, parents now feel a need to respond to every new number that lands in the gradebook, question every entry on the website (or missing one, as the case may be). As a yearbook adviser, I get to field all of the stupid questions from parents about their little darlings' pictures, or explain that no, we are not selling or giving away pictures taken at every game or event for which we receive crappy pictures from a "professional" photography company. Do these people have any idea how little time in my day I have to actually do MY job?
I want my life back. I want the job I love back. I want my Columbus Day off. So today, I took it back. I am mowing my grass (that hasn't been mowed since school started). I will do laundry (that hasn't been done in two weeks). I will grocery shop for myself and my animals. I will bathe the dogs. I will take care of me today. And I will be rested tomorrow, knowing that I did something for myself and my life.
It's much like the adventure that Columbus took - how many years ago?
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