Meetings, Meetings, Meetings... How I hate thee!

Dear Dialog,

Today was the first day of meetings for our week of school in-service. Today was categorized by the following:

1. Welcome Back Breakfast

2. Introductions

3.  Group Bonding with Play-doh - Create your Career Tech Program

4. Schedule

5. Subject Articulation with the Local Community College

6. Lunch

7. Classroom Prep Time

Tomorrow, in addition to my regular meetings, I have a training for School Master that I will be attending. This is our data entry system for Attendance and Grades. This year we are using their Gradebook application which we have not done previously. I will be a member of the support team. This means that when any of my co-workers have a concern or trouble with School Master, I will be one of the members that they can go to for assistance. 

Besides having a hard time waking up and now keeping my eyes open, today was a good day. 

I did learn that I will be receiving two additional computers, for a total of five, in my room for student use in addition to an ceiling video projector.  I will also be receiving a type of program similar to a SmartBoard. This piece of equipment will allow me to use and create an interactive SmartBoard without the cost of one. I am quite excited to use this piece of equipment in my room. 

More tomorrow!!!

The Dreaded First Day of In-service

Dear Dialog,

Tomorrow, Monday August 27th, is the first day of in-service for all of us teachers. This day will be full of a welcome back breakfast, meetings, meetings, and more meetings. Maybe at the end of the day we will have some time to plan for our classes. The entire week looks like this...

In anticipation of this first dreaded day back, I really want to post my favorite quote of all time from the movie Space Jam... 

"But Mommy, I don't want to go to school today. I wanna stay home and bake cookies with you!" - Daffy Duck

An Introduction

Dear Diary,

You are a new adventure for me. A new adventure that I am really looking forward too. You are going to allow me to do so much and talk about anything and everything that is on my mind. You are my dia-log... my Diary Blog!!!

Well to the main point of this dia-log... 

 I will discuss the challenges, the successes, the tears, the smiles, the love, the hate and so much more of what it is to be a teacher. 

Because, I am not just a teacher... 

I am a teacher, a social worker, a counselor, a friend and a support system.

I will also discuss the pitfalls and the high points of our current educational system and how it is currently setting students up for failure. 

I will suggest ways to change it, but only so much can be done when you don't have people who work in education, trying to fix education.

I will talk about the challenges of attracting good teachers to education. I will talk about how the average new teacher, with either a Bachelors or Masters degree, makes the same yearly salary as a High School Graduate.

I will talk about how with so little we are paid, we able to do so much and provide so much for our classrooms and our students.

This is a school year journey. 

This is Confessions of a Charter School Teacher.