I have posts in progress, posts written in the minutes (okay, it's me, in the half-hours) before bedtime that fizzle out into To Be Continueds. They are never continued. The Mazatlan photos sit there. I manage to get most of my juice down before I whimper across the living room, every bone creaking the story of the day, and pass out by 8:00.
But at least I sleep all night (so far)! It's like being injected with Smart Pills! I'm more patient with the kids, better able to avoid well-intentioned "funny" sarcasm (I've given up - too many just don't get it), more capable of soldiering on long after school hours (although I hope that stops soon), and right now I don't have a single kid that I hope places or levels out of my class in the next few weeks.
Mike returns to subbing tomorrow. Please keep your fingers crossed that a permanent vacancy will appear at his favourite school after Count Day. (And if not that, then any handy school.) Count Day is when the state counts up all of the enrolled kids and pays the schools $4000 + 800 each. (See how I evade the Googlies?) Until that day, the kid could be absent every day after registration, and we're not going to touch him. After Count Day? You get bounced for non-attendance. I don't make these rules.
Today was Day Four. Two kids have already been absent since Registration. I got about 10 new kids today. Fourth day of school, ten new kids. My biggest class is 39. I sat on the floor while they tested, while one kid used the remaining chair for a desk. Same old. No one ever complains. Same old.
I'm not shocked anymore, but I try to be. One of my best and brightest from last year was visiting this morning. "I wasn't supposed to be here for another month." "Why not?" "My mom wanted to visit family." "What? A month?" "Yeah, well, I haven't seen my cousins for four years." "A month?!" "I know, I know, but she was going to make me go." "A month?!"
And here I go again. (And here the taxpayers go again, paying $4000+800 for a student who takes month-long vacations throughout the year, and who always gets these vacations "excused" because who bothers investigating the sick grandma story? Even when the story is given two weeks in advance on the pre-approved absence form? Or here the taxpayers go again, gaining a student who wasn't there on Count Day, so the $4000+800 provided for your child gets chipped away for the newcomer and the one hundred newcomers that follow. I assume, that is. Maybe that's not how it works? But if not, then why is Count Day so vital?)
Tested the kids for reading today. Most didn't finish the test in one class period this year, but they're polite (so far), so I'm staying positive. (Respectful kids are a joy to teach, regardless of ability.)
I'm not sure, though, from the department email, if this year they have to be at beginning 4th grade reading level or closer to 5th grade level to stay in regular 9th grade English.
(I typed that last sentence without crying. Is my cookie coming via FedEx or via regular mail?)
Comments