Today is Wednesday December 7, 2016. I published my post about a Day on the Camino yesterday and I came home from work today with the best intentions - to put away the organic produce from my weekly delivery and to then work out. However, I felt my energy draining and my push waning as I sorted and organized the vegetables. It was almost 5 o'clock and all I wanted to do was sit down and be quiet for a few minutes, in ears, body and mind.
While I took a break under my blue mosquito net I reflected on the day. I hadn't had a moment to myself unless you counted while I was getting ready in the morning, going to the bathroom or checking email during my prep period!
Anyway, I thought I would share today, as a complement to the other post and for my non-teacher friends who wonder what I get up to all day.
6:30am - The alarm goes off! Here we go the day is starting! I feel pretty rested and I'm happy when I wake up. I put on Chvrches, make coffee, blend a smoothie and get ready for the school day.
7:30 - I arrive at school. The commute is amazing; I walk across the street. I drop my stuff in my classroom, switch on the air conditioning and go to fill my water bottle, pick up copies and order sushi for lunch.
7:40 - A Spanish 2 student finds me in the main office placing my lunch order... oops! I was supposed to meet her to show her part of a film that she missed. I rush back to the classroom and get the movie started so she can get caught up. A few other students wander in and also watch. I check my work email, load my gradebook and answer a few What's app texts from friends.
7:55 - Spanish 2 begins. I let the whole class watch a repeat of the first few minutes as they settle in. Then, we move through a warmer, I return their Diaries and Classroom Citizenship evaluations and we move into questions about the final. This is a high-achieving class - they have a lot and some good ones! For almost an hour, we have a back-and-forth of questions and clarifications. They are really focused and I love Spanish. It's a good time.
Just before 9am we move into a game which reviews verb conjugations. It's a lot of fun and this leads us up to the end of class at 9:29. Yes, that is what time first block ends. At this point, I have a whole seven minutes to transition between classes, take care of personal needs (water, bathroom) and touch base with students.
9:36 - Spanish 1 begins. I return their Diaries (Yes, there has been a lot of grading lately, and, yes, there is always a lot of grading.) and we move into homework correction. They've been working through a review packet in preparation for the final exam. We do a review activity and play a game in this class as well.
11:10 - Class finishes and it's time for lunch. Today I have a lunch meeting with some Student Council representatives and any high schooler who wants to pop in and give feedback about the uniform. We can't promise to make changes, but part of StuCo's role is to hear the student body's voice and present opinions and concerns to administration. I pick up my sushi delivery and help moderate the meeting until 11:50. After the meeting ends, I chat with my three StuCo reps about how it went. Then, they move on to class. I eat a few more bites of my lunch and look at my email.
12:03 - My colleague, former language teacher in the Chinese department, stops by for a Professional Learning Community. We discuss our recent integration and field trip, book ordering, plans for next year and more. I type up our notes and post them to our Google page.
During my "free" period, I float between emails, grading some late work, an impromptu meeting with my principal and refilling tea and then deciding to go for a small cup of coffee.
1:35 - Here comes my second Spanish 1 class! We repeat much of the previous lesson, but it is later in the day and every class is different, so I differentiate.
3:10 - School's out! I organize my room a little and my StuCo kids begin entering for our meeting. A Spanish 3 student stops by to make up a quiz and then we are rolling into our meeting. It's an intense one today, with one member resigning (we knew she was going to) and a lot of wrap up from first semester.
4:40 - The meeting wraps up and I pack up! I stop on the ground floor of the school to pick up my Fresco deliver box and run into some of the seniors who are excited to be finishing a music/choir rehearsal. I remind a Spanish 4 student about our coffee plan for tomorrow and carry my box home. I text my neighbor and she comes down so that we can divvy up the beautiful locally grown and fairly purchased products: carrots, potatoes, leeks, fennel, basil, radishes, zucchini flowers, rocket and more. I store this away.
5:15 - I flop down on my bed and do some of the thinking that I mentioned at the start of this post. :D
I love my job, but I would also like to have a little energy left over at the end of the day. I opted to read for a little bit, write this blog, cook some healthy food and finish watching A Day Without a Mexican instead of pushing on to the gym. It's important to me to have some quiet time.
Anyway, that's just one day. A lot happens besides teaching and I hope that it was informative for you to learn a little bit about what goes on for me at school. A busy day, yes, but not untypical. It's 8:37 now and I am going to shower, stretch, tidy up a bit, read and c-r-a-s-h. Tomorrow will be same-same, but different.
And please do grant me some extra credit points for two posts this week! :)
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