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Today is a day that high school students and parents look forward to with anticipation and a sense of accomplishment--GRADUATION! Unfortunately, the ceremony I attended today was a fiasco in more ways than I can count. Graduation is a time for celebration, of course. However, it is also a solemn occasion that allows students to be recognized for their hard work and acknowledges what lies ahead for them. The parents today ruined the ceremony for most of the participants and had several of them in tears. I personally was cursed at; the principal was called names during the middle of ceremony; parents were using airhorns and yelling so much that the graduates' names couldn't be heard. The ceremony would have finished 35 minutes sooner without the interruptions. Before the ceremony, parents were bum-rushing the door to get in without tickets and some of them even took the police officers to task for not supporting them. All in all, I will NOT attend another ceremony like that for any reason. There were several faculty there who had never attended before and I am sure that they got just a "wonderful" impression of what was supposed to take place. I will write more about this after I have a chance to reflect and sleep on it. I wish my students well but what a mess!

At this point, I was hoping to be able to reflect on leaving the profession having trained a replacement that I felt could carry on reasonably well. Unfortunately, due to economic conditions, that is not the case. I still have a house to sell so that I can retire and live on what I will make. I am not bitter about it however; just disappointed. I can still look back over the year and see what has happened and what will probably happen at my own school and others.

We are now in the midst of the great staffing shuffle/debacle/whatever. Teachers leave every year--that is a fact of life. They go back to school, get married, retire, get fed-up, want a change of scenery and on and on. So from about the end of April until the beginning of the new year, there is a competition for the best of the crop of new teachers or transfers from other schools. Over the past five years, I have had the glorious pleasure of doing interviewing for these positions along with a couple of my co-department heads. Some years we are allowed to directly hire; others, just take resumes. I always find it to be an interesting experience but this year it has just been depressing. The system is closing down several schools and the staff at those schools have to find a new position on their own. I have seen people who have been productive and effective instructors for 15-20 years who now have no clue where they will be working next year. In previous administrations, they would have been assigned to schools and teachers with less seniority would have been surplussed but not this year. I don't know exactly why but seniority appears to no longer count for much. This causes another problem in that most of these senior teachers don't want to go back into the more challenging classrooms for many reasons--some valid; some not. I honestly can't totally blame them. They have worked hard to perfect what they do and sometimes their training precludes them from teaching the lower level classes. They have specialized (as we all were encouraged to do) and now they are suddenly obsolete. Add to this mix, a large group of good quality foreign-born teachers who have been recruited over the past few years and a group of career-changing teachers that have already been contracted for and you have a group of teachers too large to fill the few positions that are actually available. My school has a few positions available but not the number that we normally do and a couple of them are specialized and will be hard to fill even with the number of candidates out there.

To that end, let me share some tips for getting a job at my school at any rate. I don't know if all people interview like this but it works for us. I like to read the resumes; of course, I want to know the training and experience the person brings to the table. But I am looking for the "spark" and, no, I can't quantify it exactly. I know it when I see it. The people who come to the interview with the "I am the best you will ever see" attitude don't have it. People who act like they are doing us a favor by interviewing don't have it. People who can't tell me why they want to teach usually don't have it. Now don't get me wrong. I have had people tell me that they are now going into teaching because there are jobs in the field. Those folks don't bother me; they are honest. They also had usually considered being a teacher before and it is not a totally stop-gap position for them. This round of interviews have given me far more of the no-spark people. Maybe it has to do with all of the turmoil in the job situations in the system; I don't know but the "spark" people are few and far between.

I am off for today. I am enjoying the three-day weekend as I have been swamped with senior activities and I am in need of extra rest. Hope everyone's weekend is restful and relaxing.

Well, I am still in the teaching mode and tomorrow I will be in the hiring mode. I am losing four teachers for the coming year and can only replace three of them--budget cuts. I am thrilled to be able to rehire one of the teachers who I lost last year over certification issues and two teachers--quality and competent--who lost their positions through school closings. The hiring fair tomorrow has the joy of trying to place all of those teachers/staff members who have lost their jobs through reorganization and/or school closings. I feel for these folk but some of them should just find jobs outside of teaching. The reason some of them are where they were is because a classroom just didn't work for them. Why put them back in a place where they couldn't function to begin with? Makes me want to scream. The Peter Principle is alive and well in most school systems particularly in administration. I see it time and time again--assistant principals and principals who were never good as teachers but who seem to think that they know exactly how to deal with students because they took admin classes. Ha! This is what has happened when we made the move not to promote from within and rather hire administrators by their certification status. When I first went into teaching, principals and assistants could move up from the teacher corps and then get certified. Not now. Now you get people with degrees who maybe spent 2-3 years in a classroom and are authorities by virtue of their degree. Not that extra training isn't necessary but let it be in budget making, learning to negotiate legal issues and stuff that isn't normally dealt with by a teacher. No administrator should be allowed to become one without having spent 10 years or so in a classroom. That would be far more beneficial. Have a good weekend and wish me luck with the finding of competent teachers.

I know that time flies as you grow older but it seems to me that my life has gone to warp speed. Just yesterday it was January and now we are close to finishing April. My life continues to take turns and a large number of them are tied to the drama unfolding in the political life of Baltimore City. Schools are closing. I don't think that all of the schools need to remain open but there really doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to the choices. Then there are the budget cuts--omg, how can any principal be expected to run a school when the budget gets set, spending is set and then the money is frozen? Money leads me to another topic. Alumni associations have, in general, been very supportive of the schools in Baltimore City; some more so than others. The bigger schools have large and effective associations that use the monies they raise to supply items that are not covered in a normal budget. Problems arise when the associations do not agree with the agenda of the principal or other leaders in the school. Then the money is often withheld as a form of punishment but who really suffers? Certainly not the teachers or administrators but the students who don't get to participate in things that should be part of the school year. I really hate the politics of alumni associations but I see that, for some schools, they are the only way to make up budgetary shortfalls. I better move on from this as my blood pressure will soar as a result of a recent confrontation.

On a happier note, my daughter was just accepted into a graduate program in linguistics with emphasis on ESL training. It is something that she wanted and it took what seemed forever for her to be accepted. I knew this was the direction she would go in and I am very happy for her. However, she is happy and feels as though she has a great deal to contribute to this type of program. She is a wordaholic and loves the history of language. Good luck to her!

I am unsure of what to think about retirement. For the record, I am planning to retire this year even though it will be an early retirement for me. I am not doing it purely because I want to get out of teaching. I am starting another life in another state and teaching just doesn't figure in to the equation. However, as the time gets closer, I am more and more convinced that I am making the correct decision. Don't get me wrong--I still love my work but the obstacles to success are getting higher and higher every day. The morale in my school is awful; the students are fighting every day; the administrators are frustrated; and the support from the central office is a rapidly diminishing commodity. I am always amazed that people continue to come to work under such conditions and do as well as they do. Right now, I feel for many of my co-workers who believe that no one supports them and that no one cares about how they are doing in the classroom. Many of them are fearful for their safety and every day I hear horror stories about what students do in the classroom and how they get away with it. I did a formal observation last week and, during the class, about half of the students were using cellphones and not paying attention. Mind you, this was an honors class. The teacher had an excellent lesson and the students completed the assignments but I had the feeling that they really weren't giving it full attention. Unfortunately, the teacher did nothing to stop the cellphone use and, I believe, has adopted the idea that the struggle for control over essentially minor rules is just not worth the struggle. I listen to the younger teachers in the building who believe that many of the rules in place are not worth trying to enforce and that enforcing them is too much effort. That in turn leads to a further breakdown of order and chaos throughout the school. I am a firm subscriber to the "broken window" plan of law enforcement--take care of the small crimes and the larger ones will diminish. Younger teachers don't seem to grasp that idea and allow things to happen in the classroom that lead to further behavior issues. I have given up on this strategy however and that is another indication that it is time to go. You know what I won't miss about school--the noise. Loud student voices, loud principal voices, loud teacher noises, and, last but not least, loud parent noises. I am looking forward to having some quiet and reflection which used to happen in classrooms occasionally. More on this later.

For those of you who are young in age, the doldrums are a period of time in which everyone and everything is in limbo and no one is in the mood to do anything energetic at all. February is the month in which everyone is tired of cold weather, crabby students and going to work on a daily basis with minimal sun and/or warmth outside. This combination tends to make for a volatile mix that leads to students fighting and adults behaving like they have lost all sense of reason and logic. In the past week, my school has had about 10 major fights resulting in suspensions. Most of them were involving students who under most circumstances one never hears from. Sad, really. When even the better students in the school turn to violence to solve the issues around them, we then know it is time for some major attitude adjustments. I don't (and probably never will) understand how fighting solves any issue that students have. I believe that the reason for the violence is not defending honor but repressed anger. Anger at their family, their environment, their school and themselves--all are fair targets for anger. How have we, as a society, allowed all of this anger to build up? And now, let's add the deteriorating economy and bleak job prospects and another level of frustration. I wish I had the answers. I don't. I can only hope that someone who is in a better position than I am will make an effort to deal with some of these issues so that we can start bringing some hope back to these students and the society as a whole. Good luck to all of us.

This is the time of year when teachers and students begin to get a slump. There are no big holidays, exams are over for a time, the weather is generally yucky, and spring is too far away. Teachers get cranky because students are not doing what they are supposed to and students get cranky because they think that teachers are asking them to do too much work in and out of school. As a result, February is a month of short tempers, suspensions and in-fighting among teachers. This year has been particularly bad as the economy has made everyone jumpy and rumors of layoffs and downsizing appear everywhere even though the actuality of either one has not even been mentioned. As I look at the news about the schools and listen to the other teachers talk to one another, I am struck by the fact that I am not hearing much in the way of optimism. People are talking about leaving their jobs, about how they feel nothing is moving forward, about how they see more and more responsibility moving away from the students and on to the teachers. Let me give an example of what I mean. This week there was a particularly vicious girl fight in our area of the school. Girl fights tend to be more vicious as they will scratch, bite and other things. However, this one involved some girls who normally do not cause trouble and it took an adult sitting on one of the girls to break it up. All three of the girls were suspended for five days and a mediation meeting was scheduled on the day they are to return. The next day I got a phone call from the father of one of the girls who wanted to know if he brought her in could she return to school that day. When I said no and that she had to wait for the mediation, he became belligerent and said that his daughter couldn't afford to miss that many days of school, who did we think that we were to keep her out, fighting shouldn't be a suspendible offense, and on and on. When I told him that his daughter should have thought of that prior to starting the fight, he went on to say that it was the school's fault that she got in the fight to begin with. When I asked him why, he stated that the principal instigated the fight by not letting kids do what they wanted to do--like going out to lunch, walking the halls if they didn't want to go to class, etc. His opinion was that, if the students were just allowed to select what they wanted to do and when, there would be no problems. How do you argue with that logic? I have found that, in recent years, parents have abrogated their duties and now want schools to be the same way. No wonder teachers get frustrated. Not all parents are like this. Most of them want their children to be successful but the handful who don't care ruin it for the others. I don't know if there is a solution for all of this but I will probably be retired before anything is done in a positive way.

I know, I know--blogging should occur on a much more regular basis but just like millions of others, for me, the period between Thanksgiving and year's end just seems to fly. Between personal things and school things, life just doesn't give up moving and writing is usually the thing that makes the bottom of the list. I guess that is why my memoirs will not ever make it into print--ha! I am looking forward to the new year with reservations. My personal life has many ups going right now but they will ultimately involve changes in my professional life and I am nervous aobut those types of changes. Teachers typically do not handle change well. Witness the two or three teachers in every school who, when they retire, have to throw out at least two trashcarts full of old memos and other accumulated materials. I will be the same as I have stuff that is in drawers I inherited from my predecessor that I have not made an effort to remove. Yes, I am strongly considering retiring at the end of the year. It will be "early" retirement for me which will mean that I will not draw quite as much money as I would if I taught for four more years but I will be alive to see it. Teaching has lost most of its appeal for me over the past two years. Instead of waking up excited at the prospect of what the day will bring, I find myself dreading what awaits when I walk in the door. More paperwork, more irritated administrators, more trying to get students to care about their grades--it just seems to have gotten more futile over this period of time. Add to that, a desire to have a life again with someone who enjoys being around me for me and the decision pretty much makes itself. I still believe that I am good at what I do but it is time for me to move on and let those who have more energy and more fervor take over. Sad but true and I don't want to become like other teachers in my building who could retire and stay on because they have nothing else going for them. Those are the ones who need to leave; the ones who people joke about when they remember school; I don't need that kind of life. So I will continue posting to let others know how it feels to move on as we all must. I hope that everyone has had a good holiday season and looks forward to whatever the new year holds.

I had not forgotten the posting but, quite frankly, work has been overwhelming for the past several weeks and I don't see much of a let up in sight. So now I am going to write while I have a few moments to think clearly and reevaluate what has been going on with work. The past couple of weeks have seen an upswing in violence and general misbehavior in our system. Now behavior does always go a little off before the holidays but, this year, well, let's just say that the boiling point has been exceeded and then some. Teachers have been assaulted, teachers have gone off on students in totally unprofessional ways, fires have been set and, unfortunately, two people have been killed on school property. What has triggered all of this foolishness I am not quite sure. It would be wonderful if we could point to one thing and say "Get rid of this and all will be well." However, that is not the case. For the first time in many years, I am feeling a sense of hopelessness among even seasoned teachers used to the vagarities of urban school settings. We have been through budget cuts, staff layoffs, overcrowded classrooms, incompetent administrators--you name it--and weathered the storm. Now not a day goes by when at least one teacher and/or administrator says to me that this is their final year. More money, more recognition, new books, none of that would seem to help. The students come to school much more interested in carrying on the conflicts of the neighborhood than in learning anything at all. I have bruises from trying to restrain students from coming into an open area to get involved in a fight. I have had a parent tell me that she wants to home school her son because she knows that, if he continues to come to school, he will get in a fight every day and she is worried he will get injured or killed. She knows that her son is not totally innocent but she, like school staff, doesn't know what to do to get him to think clearly. I could lay blame on central administration--and some of it does go there--but it seems to me that there is a general breakdown with the students in terms of teaching civility at home and in school. Students seems to respect no one even themselves unless that person can hold his own in a fight or carries a weapon. I won't say that I have given up but the joy of teaching is rapidly being eroded by the tension of non-support and neglect.

I do hope that all have a good Thanksgiving and despite how I feel today, I still look back on my career with mostly good feelings.

I normally try to steer clear of topics about which I feel vehemently about as I tend to not hear what others say about them. However, the HSA graduation requirement is something that is just making me nuts. I realize that the purpose of the HSA tests were to make all students meet a minimum level of competance prior to graduation. That is NOT what they have accomplished. Right now, the only students who are suffering are ESL and special education students who are having to work on so-called Bridge Projects that will allow them to graduate on time. I have been in on planning and studying the HSAs since their inception. From the beginning, teachers who were involved kept saying--"Why not have a dual-track diploma system to go along with the HSAs?" A system could have been implemented from the beginning that would make everyone take the required tests once and then make the decision as to whether or not they would retake them to obtain a passing score. What would be wrong with that? Nothing; absolutely nothing except it wouldn't look as good as having all students pass these tests--by looking good, I mean the State Board of Education. The tests are longer than the SATs and the results are never explicitly spelled out for the student, parents or teachers. The state board representative can't even tell you how the darn thing is scored. It all has to do with easy, medium and hard questions and whether the indicator being tested is covered in more than one question. A complicated system that no one really understands and therefore should be invalid. Right now, my school has 152 out of 299 seniors who will not be able to graduate if they don't pass the tests or do the Bridge Projects. The projects are even more difficult than the tests except for the Algebra ones. The projects are not capable of being done by ESL or special education students on their own and so it falls on the teachers and the schools to provide time for these tasks to be accomplished. If the problem just existed in one school system, I would not be alarmed but it is across the state. The article in today's SUN was good as far as it went. But let me tell you that the majority of students who need to do projects in Biology or English have a long way to go to see the fruits of their labor. Once again, the burden of assisting these students falls on the shoulders of the schools and faculty. If a dual-track diploma system was in place, students woul be able to take the test, make a decision as to whether or not they want to take it again and go from there. Is that too much to ask?

After a number of years of teaching, I often find myself in discussion with others about why bother to teach. The rationale goes something like this--Students don't want to be in school; young people have access to so much knowledge on the Internet; why bother reading; teaching is for those who can't excel at other things; the list goes on and on. Well, tonight, at a Pizza Hut of all places, I was once again reminded as to why I teach. I went out with my children--23 and 21--for a rare meal out for the three of us as a group. We were perusing the menus--already knowing what we would order--when my daughter started laughing out loud. She then pointed to an insert that I had yet to see and said "No comment; just read." The insert was for the promotion that Pizza Hut does yearly for its reward program for elementary students who get good grades. I have seen the campaign numerous times but this one was a classic. "Bring in you're A's and get $$$ off of your order." Now I am used to seeing grammar errors everywhere even in communication from the School Board but this one was particularly distressing as it was in an ad for good grades in school. I don't know if anyone bothered to actually read the ad before it went to press or if they just allowed spell check to do the work. The point is that now I don't know if I can ever look at a Pizza Hut again without making the jump to that grammar error. I know that it is a small thing in the overall scheme of things but it is another example of why I teach. Both of my children immediately caught the error but how many others who have read the ad didn't even bother to think anything was wrong? Maybe one day, no one will care if it should have read "your" instead of "you're." I always will. Knowledge is power and those who know how to properly use the language will always be in demand somewhere, somehow. It is my goal to share my love of learning with others and THAT is why I still go to work and care about what others know.

The beginning of the testing season is upon us and those of us who deal with testing in any shape, manner or form dread this time of year more than any other. The push to get everyone tested, the push to make sure that all the teachers and others are not overworked with proctoring, and the push to make sure that all of the tested students pass all combine to produce one giant headache for anyone involved. This year is particularly stressful in that it is the first year that seniors have to have passed all of the tests or achieved a combined score of 1602 in order to receive a MD diploma. Of course, now the State Board of Education has thrown a wrinkle into the situation by publicly stating that maybe--just maybe--these tests are not a great idea and that we should have a dual-track diploma system. So now the students have another reason to doubt the veracity of teachers who tell them how important these tests are. What a negative blast from the top down! We will have to wait and see what transpires at their next meeting to see what other gems of wisdom are imparted to us. And the Bridge Plan for graduating seniors--another "do it or die trying" situation. The projects are difficult for students to handle on their own. Add to that the manpower involved in getting them done and students are already having a fit. I wonder if standardized testing will ever be run by someone who actually wants students to be successful.

All of us who are currently in teaching are ruled by NCLB. It rules our lives, our instructional methods and too often, how our schools are governed. There has always been standardized testing--SATs, ACTs, PSATs, regent's exams, and on and on. What NCLB has done is take standardized testing and move it to another plane of existence. Now testing becomes the rule of order and no one is exempt from its power. Those of us who deal with the realities of testing on a daily basis however are continually frustrated by the unevenness of the application of the testing standard from state to state. There is no general consensus about what makes a highly qualified teacher, what type of test is good to use for AYP and whether or not special education students should have to meet exactly the same criteria as "regular" students. Maryland has one set of rules, Texas has one set of rules, California has one set of rules and seldom do two states agree on anything. What seems to get left behind here is the student. What message do we as teachers send to students who can pass a class with an 85 or 90 and yet not pass a state-mandated test? Who can judge whether or not the student has learned the material required for proficiency in the class--the teacher or the state? Who decides the value of a teacher by their ability to teach and connect with students or their ability to pass a test of dubious quality? I am all for teachers and students demonstrating proficiency in the classroom and on tests but let's make those tests fair and equitable. Let's standardize the tests for both groups across the board so that a teacher or student who gets a passing score in MD will still have met the passing standard in the other 49 states. Then we will get some true equality in our schools. NCLB doesn't address this or the fact that not everyone needs to go to college. We are turning out classes of students who do not have marketable skills but have been told that they are "college-ready." What a farce!

Someone recently asked me what being a professional teacher is. I was taken aback for the moment as I had to think that over for more than a few minutes. Being a professional teacher has changed rapidly since I first began teaching and I would appreciate that discussion going on between teachers of all levels of experience.

I believe that a professional teacher treats the work as a calling and not just another job. Teaching in one of the few professions that you must learn to make changes in your life in order to be successful. One of the areas in which I personally see a lack of professionalism is in the way newer teachers view being absent from the job. When a teacher is absent, particularly in a system where substitutes are not available in great numbers, the students and the other staff are both impacted. I am not unfeeling as I know people become genuinely ill, have family emergencies and are effected by circumstances over which they have no control. But I find that newer teachers will take off for any reason--my cat died, my friend is getting married, I have a hangnail, I stayed up too late and am tired--and see nothing wrong with the issue. Yes, we have a certain number of sick days given to us but they are for use when YOU ARE ILL or injured; not for going to get a haircut. When a teacher is not in the classroom in my school, chances are that the substitute will not attempt to do anything that remotely resembles teaching and/or the classes will be divided up and given to other teachers who have classes of their own to teach. This sets a bad example for the students. We try to get them to understand that being in school every day is important and then their own teacher doesn't come in for a trivial reason. Oh, and don't think that the students won't tell exactly why you are not in school; not only do they know but they share with anyone who will listen. I have come to school when I probably should have stayed home but, you know what, the students would work with me when I lost my voice or had to not move around much in the room. It also gave them the feeling that I cared for them.

Another example of professionalism is to do those duties that are required of your job without having to be reminded to get them done. Things like lesson planning, attending required meetings, filling out required reports in a timely manner are all part of showing that you treat your job as a profession and not just a time killer. I cannot count how many times I have had to ask teachers to turn in class counts, book counts, special education forms, attend meetings on time or at least let me know where they were. I try to be reasonable about all timelines but often I need information by a certain date and there are always one or two teachers who must be contacted in person in order to get the information (which took them two or three minutes to gather). And yet I am expected to drop everything when they need something from me even when it requires me to change my schedule.

So, some of the newer teachers out there, tell me what you think that it means to be a professional teacher. I am interested to see how far off you think I am.

Since I have been in the teaching field for over 20 years, I am often asked why I went into teaching particularly since I had several other jobs before. I certainly didn't go into teaching as one sees in MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS, DEAD POETS' SOCIETY, or DANGEROUS MINDS. Those movies, while immensely entertaining, are not accurate portrayals of teaching in today's world. I know that the movies are inspirational and make for good stories but, get real, those kinds of stories are the work of Hollywood magic. They may be based on real events but I have never seen those kinds of events in any real school that I have entered. That doesn't mean we don't have our inspirational moments but they are far fewer and far less dramatic than anything you will see in the movies. A closer depiction of teaching can be found in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH and TEACHERS (with Nick Nolte). I went into teaching after having a career in another field and becoming disillusioned with the workplace grind. I was hired sight unseen by a principal who knew me by my family reputation. I was lucky to fall into a system that allowed me to experiment with who I was as a teacher and how I wanted to find a place in the system. I have made many good friends with fellow teachers and have kept in touch with former students who are now located all over the United States and have had various degrees of success. I wanted to be a better teacher than some of the ones I had had in elementary school and in high school. In fact, the one person who made me want to be a teacher was the man I had as a 5th-6th grade teacher who played favorites, embarrassed students and was, in general, totally incompetent. I raged against him and always vowed, if given the opportunity, would be a much better teacher than he ever was. Somewhere he knows what he did and probably would be surprised if he knew how I felt. So that is why I am a teacher. I have had a great career but I am looking forward to leaving with my brain and body intact. Let me know why you wanted to go into teaching--I am curious.

So, this week this blog lived up to its title--hot! If you work in Baltimore City and this is your first year, you had the joyous experience of having school dismissed early because of the heat. The rule for heat dismissal is that the outside temperature must reach 90 degrees at the Science Center by 11 a.m. in order to release students early. Now, let's think about this situation. Most of the schools in the city are un-airconditioned (except for the principal's office and the library/media center) and the buildings were built in the days before "green" design. The majority of them are brick, concrete-block or something of that sort; good bomb shelters but not conducive to allowing heat to escape once the building has warmed up. On Thursday, the inside temperature in my building was already 80-85 degrees before the students arrived. Get real! Students do NOT learn in an environment where they are sweating, sticking to the chairs and there is no air moving around. The argument is made that "students dealt with these temperatures in the buildings for years and did well." True enough, but the school year then didn't extend from the end of August to the middle of June either. Also, students were better able to deal with heat as air-conditioning was not a ubiquitous feature of many homes and apartments. I didn't live in an air-conditioned house until the late 60's and even then we only had it in one room. Brand new teachers got a jolt when they hit the buildings and had to deal with not just the heat but the short tempers and drowsiness the heat produced. I am not saying we should air-condition all the buildings but a more reasonable system for determining the comfort level of schools needs to be devised. I have had parents tell me that they were going to keep students home because of the heat and, quite frankly, I don't blame them. Have administrators and general office personnel live in the same rooms as the students and teachers; then see how long they will last. And, folks, if you think the heat is fun, just wait until winter and the heat doesn't work in the building because they turn the boilers off over the weekends. The least the system should do is provide fans to move air around. Most teachers I know end up getting two, three or even four fans in their rooms just to keep the temperature bearable. With all of the money appropriated for school improvement, maybe climate controls should come in the list at some point. Let's all hope that the hurricane coming past Maryland will take the temperatures down into the manageable level. We will survive folks but drink lots of water and wear loose clothing. KEEP THOSE FANS MOVING!!!

The first week or two of school with students is referred to as the "honeymoon period" for obvious reasons.  Both sides, students and teachers, getting to know one another, sizing each other up, wondering what motivates their actions.  Well, for most schools in the state, the first week of school is over and all things are sorting themselves out.  The first week in my school has been BUSY--mostly with meetings that were unnecessary and problems that arose because educated people can't read directions.  I am always amazed when teachers who should know better don't read opening day directions and send students to the incorrect lunch period or to another class without the time being correct.  Sometimes I just want to walk up to them and shake sense into their heads.

All in all, the first week usually makes or breaks a new teacher.  They find out who the students are who will give them problems and who are the ones who are there to learn.  They also rapidly discover which administrators will back them up and which ones won't.  It is now time to begin making alliances with the support staff that is needed for a teacher to be truly successful.  Personally, my first week was good--way too busy but productive.  I believe that the majority of the teachers at my school are there to do the correct thing and are trying to do so in a positive manner. 

That's it for today.

The school year is here and you will find that there will be weeks when your classroom is more familiar to you than your own home.  In fact, you will spend more of your waking hours there during your first year than you will at home or with your family.  That may sound like a horror movie but, even when you are home, you will be thinking about school and lessons and students and on and on.  That being said, you must make your classroom a place that you can stand to be in for extended periods of time without screaming.

Different people accomplish this task in different ways.  Depending upon the school in which you have landed, you may be able to paint, hang curtains, bring in comfortable chairs and other such amenities.  At a minimum, your room should be clean, well-lit and have at least one or two places where you can sit while not teaching and be comfortable. 

As an example, let me share how I used to keep my classroom when I was in a full-time mode.  I was fortunate that I had a large room with windows all down one of the long walls.  I put colored paper on top of the shades because the shades were old, gray and cracking.  I painted my desk dark blue instead of institutional gray and I brought in a desk chair on rollers.  I personally enjoy plants and have lots of them at home; so they made it in to the room also.  Over the years, I also had an iguana and a couple of guinea pigs that lived in the classroom on an extended basis.  And, no, I don't teach science but I used the care and feeding of them as rewards for improved behavior and grades.  The iguana made a name for himself and was in the room off and on for three years.  The guinea pigs didn't last that long but that was OK too.  You do have to be careful introducing pets into the room.  Some students have allergies and others are afraid of reptiles and the like.  The animals made me feel connected to the outside world and the students learned something from being around them as well.  I keep a cloth on the top of my desk not only for padding but for an additional bit of color. 

I have friends who decorate their rooms for every season and keep plants and stuff all around.  Most schools have some sort of guidelines for bulletin boards and the like which you will be evaluated on; so pay attention to that.  Students love to see their work posted and that can always fill a board or so.  Make sure that every student gets a chance to see their work displayed--makes for a happier environment.

Lastly, try to keep your part of the room as clean as possible.  Nothing is more depressing than walking into a room with dirty desks and messy bookshelves. 

Good luck and have a good start to the year.

One more weekend and the summer "vacation" will be officially over.  Then we will all step into the whirlwind that is a school year in the 21st century.  Despite what I might feel at times, I still love my job or I wouldn't be here.  Yes, it has its problems--paperwork, administration, petty rivalries, heat, lack of supplies, and on and on--but, at the end of the day, the rewards still outweigh the challenges.  I always look forward to seeing what new teachers bring with them, what veteran teachers have done over the summer, and what new hoops there will be for us both to jump through.  This year brings added elements for me personally as I have developed a new personal relationship that could make major changes in my life and my daughter has gotten engaged.  Even my son, who is the youngest and most unstable of us, has found a relationship with a girl who seems to be the real thing.  Add all of this to the normal stresses of the school year and I see lots of "fun" ahead.  That's all for now.