BUSY

I have been really busy the last few weeks at school. I finally just this week was able to go back to my Resource job and I am truly enjoying it. I have the K-4 grades and it is a welcome change from 7th grade last year. The school is still in such a state of upheaval though. There are subs in 2 classroom, 37 kids in another classroom and the morale of all the teachers is incredibly low. Our principal has even thretened to quit all due to the new Assitant Superintendent that is giving us so many problems. We have to improve our MAP scores this year or our school will be reconfigurated and some people may be let go, but it is very hard to do when there are split level classrooms at 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8.

On the home front, Justin is playing football and hockey, Adam has scouts and hockey and Hannah has her busy social life and hockey, so needless to say it has been hectic.

More to come soon though!

What's wrong with SLPS?

So many people in the St. Louis area are asking what is wrong with SLPS that they lost their district accreditation, that the test scores are so low, that the kids are so misbehaved etc. Well here is one reason...

Last week, there was a sub for the 6th grade class. So after recess when students are picked up on the playground the sub was late or maybe didn't know he was to pick up the kids, I'm not sure. But our PE and art teacher were on recess duty. As I came to pick up my class, the PE techer says to the art teacher (who is new) "come on we can go in now", even thought he 6th graders were all standing there without their teacher. So I waited a few minutes thinking the guy would come but he didn't I then walked my students to the cafeteria door and told them to wait while I went in. Right inside the cafeteria that leads to the playground are the PE and art teacher and I say to them, "no one has come down for 6th grade, they have a sub who might not realize he is to pick them up." So the art teacher goes okay and starts walking out and the PE teacher goes wait a minute and then she looks at me and goes and "that's my problem why?" So I said "well there are 30 kids outside unsupervised'" and she says "and I care about that because??"

AND people ask what's wrong with SLPS!!!!

Oh I have many more where that came from and it is only the third week of school!

It will never end

Okay, this job thing is really starting to get to me now. I was moved into the resource position a week before school started. The first week of school we were waiting on a list of students to be serviced to be generated. The second week of school I was in meetings for the first 2 days then on Wednesday I was told that class sizes in the upper grades were getting too large and a 5/6 split class room woudl need to be opened and I would temporarily have to be the teacher. Well it's almost a week later and there is still no teacher and no one knows when one will be assigned so in the mean while I am not servicing the K-4 resource kids. Rather, all K-8 resource kids are being serviced by one resource teacher. So on Friday I put my application in at the Special School District of St. Louis County. I really hope something comes through with that. Because I am soooooo done with SLPS.