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So much for stress-free
Aug. 24th, 2009 03:18 pmIn about the period of a week, everything that seemed to be settled into place has turned on its head. Frankly, I don't like it.
School is a mess. We were told on Thursday that, to all intents and purposes, the exploratory classes really count for nothing in the grand scheme of our school. Due to number hunting (via test scores), the school board has decided that all band and choir students who didn't reach a 90% or higher on their ISATs in ALL THREE subjects (math, science and reading) will no longer be taking exploratories. Instead, they will take remedial classes while we are deprived of 160 of our most motivated and creative learners.
However, since parents weren't exactly in favor of this plan, the exploratory teachers are being asked to teach an additional, zero hour class (starting at 7am for students, 6:30 for teachers) so that these students can still have the opportunity to take these courses. Of course, there will be no buses provided, only minimal compensation, students may elect not to take any individual course that they don't like, and heaven only knows how they'll handle grades. I suppose those will be optional, too.
If more than 30 kids should choose to take one exploratory (say Art, for example), then either they are out of luck, or that teacher will have to teach multiple sections over the course of the year. Our schedule will be made up according to the band schedule, though, so too bad if your morning exploratory class happens to fall when you're staying afterschool for coaching or extracurriculars. You just need to learn to function with lack of sleep and extra grading/planning time. Not that big a deal.
Even better, since we teach both 7th and 8th grade, we either have to make a grade repeat a curriculum they've already done or else find some way to create an all new, extra curriculum for the handful of students that may or may not choose to take these classes. We start in a week... two tops. Sounds fun, right?
If all this wasn't enough, my so called boyfriend decided that things like calling me, seeing me, or just generally being amicable were too much effort for his poor, depressed self and he'd rather sit at home playing Mafia Wars and griping about how no one respects him or his profession than be a decent human being. Because, when your girlfriend is home alone, unable to even make a can of soup because she's too sick to stand, it's a major grievance to ask you to drive the 3 minutes to come over and heat a can of soup up and pretend to give a damn. In case anyone was wondering, I've decided I much prefer the company of friends who actually care to his sorry ass, so if there are any guys out there who find bald chicks to be hot, send them my way. I won't be seeing anyone for the next 5 months, probably.
Positive can come later. Right now I'm tired, cranky, pissed at the world, and really not looking forward to putting on a cheery face this week for the students who are still being told to take my class this year.
I won't even get into how much this week has sucked as far as chemo effects. Not throwing up is a small benefit when you're still too queasy to eat more than a few spoonfuls of anything anyway.
Damn it all.
School is a mess. We were told on Thursday that, to all intents and purposes, the exploratory classes really count for nothing in the grand scheme of our school. Due to number hunting (via test scores), the school board has decided that all band and choir students who didn't reach a 90% or higher on their ISATs in ALL THREE subjects (math, science and reading) will no longer be taking exploratories. Instead, they will take remedial classes while we are deprived of 160 of our most motivated and creative learners.
However, since parents weren't exactly in favor of this plan, the exploratory teachers are being asked to teach an additional, zero hour class (starting at 7am for students, 6:30 for teachers) so that these students can still have the opportunity to take these courses. Of course, there will be no buses provided, only minimal compensation, students may elect not to take any individual course that they don't like, and heaven only knows how they'll handle grades. I suppose those will be optional, too.
If more than 30 kids should choose to take one exploratory (say Art, for example), then either they are out of luck, or that teacher will have to teach multiple sections over the course of the year. Our schedule will be made up according to the band schedule, though, so too bad if your morning exploratory class happens to fall when you're staying afterschool for coaching or extracurriculars. You just need to learn to function with lack of sleep and extra grading/planning time. Not that big a deal.
Even better, since we teach both 7th and 8th grade, we either have to make a grade repeat a curriculum they've already done or else find some way to create an all new, extra curriculum for the handful of students that may or may not choose to take these classes. We start in a week... two tops. Sounds fun, right?
If all this wasn't enough, my so called boyfriend decided that things like calling me, seeing me, or just generally being amicable were too much effort for his poor, depressed self and he'd rather sit at home playing Mafia Wars and griping about how no one respects him or his profession than be a decent human being. Because, when your girlfriend is home alone, unable to even make a can of soup because she's too sick to stand, it's a major grievance to ask you to drive the 3 minutes to come over and heat a can of soup up and pretend to give a damn. In case anyone was wondering, I've decided I much prefer the company of friends who actually care to his sorry ass, so if there are any guys out there who find bald chicks to be hot, send them my way. I won't be seeing anyone for the next 5 months, probably.
Positive can come later. Right now I'm tired, cranky, pissed at the world, and really not looking forward to putting on a cheery face this week for the students who are still being told to take my class this year.
I won't even get into how much this week has sucked as far as chemo effects. Not throwing up is a small benefit when you're still too queasy to eat more than a few spoonfuls of anything anyway.
Damn it all.
