Tag Archives: Teaching

Accept What’s Outside Of Your Control. Truly a Fine Idea…

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Control your perceptions.

Direct your actions properly.

Willingly accept what’s outside your control.

It took me a very long time to figure this out. So many hours of wasted mental energy fighting fights that I knew I couldn’t win but fought anyway. Now, it just isn’t worth the stress.

Especially when we talk about work, the people in charge of us have agendas that they will undoubtedly force on us day after day. They already know what they want and yet pretend that they care what we think. Agendas that we have no control over. They want us to believe that we are part of the decision-making process, but we really aren’t.

I see my colleagues every day getting all worked up over what they know deep down inside they can’t change, but they keep trying over and over again and then get upset when things stay the same. Those in charge may lead them or you to believe that they are part of the process.

A part of a process that has been predetermined. So I will tell you now. Don’t sweat the small shit.  Our bosses know what they want and they will continue to pretend to include us in the “decision” making.

Go ahead, I dare you. Prove me wrong.

The First Day Of School

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Holy crap yes, that day is finally here,

The brand new start to a whole new school year.

Lessons and meetings plus excuses galore,

Mind numbing students who stare at the floor.

You’ll do what we want, you’ll do what we say,

Put them in groups or pairs every day.

Higher level questioning on things they don’t get,

Forget those state tests, you don’t have to fret.

So enjoy these last moments, and then just jump in the fray,

Watch the stupidity but stay out of the way.

It’s no doubt you will live, It’s no doubt you will thrive,

Just keep your sanity and stay fully alive.

So as you sit there tomorrow, eyes covered in glaze,

Remember that summer is in 187 short days.

 

It’s Summertime!

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sad-dog_l

Teachers the night before the first day of school

The summer’s half gone as teachers lament,

The month of July was time very well spent.

Sitting around on a nice sandy beach,

Nirvana and bliss are well within reach.

But the days slowly pass and with ease they go by,

This shouldn’t end, they say with a sigh.

But time marches on, and September draws near,

The summer is ending, that much is clear.

So enjoy the long days and put out of your head,

The inevitable truth and that strange sense of dread.

Because that day it will come and soon we’ll return,

To lessons and meetings, and all that we yearn.

But even as nice as the summers may be,

It’s the kids we await because they hold the key!

 

 

Why The AT? Then Again, Why Not?

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Image result for appalachian trail sign

“To travel, to experience and learn: that is to live.” –Tenzing Norgay

In a little under two years I will be eligible to retire from my job as a special educator. In NYS, teachers can retire at the age of 55 if they have 30 years in the system. Directly after high school I spent four years in the Marine Corps, then went to school and worked other jobs for  several years before teaching.

So what does this mean? It means that my time in education is near an end. So what next?

As I mentioned in my previous post, my first goal in retirement is to thru hike the Appalachian Trail. As a matter of course, the first question that everyone always asks anyone with a similar goal is “Why?”

With that said, let’s get the “why” out of the way.

My first adult real life challenge came in October 1983 when I reported to Parris Island, SC for basic training with the USMC. Without a doubt, this was the most difficult thing that I had done in my life, both physically and mentally. To describe it as three months of pure hell would be an understatement!

After being discharged I began hiking more than I ever had and used this as my primary form of exercise during the months that were suitable for hitting the trail. The rest of the year was spent riding a stationary bike in an attempt to try to get and stay in shape. This remains true to this day.

So, when you look at my love of hiking and put that together with a lifelong desire to accomplish difficult tasks, a thru hike almost seems inevitable. Why not?

More on this as I continue my research of the AT and engage in some more self reflection.

Disrupt

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Every day I walk into class and I think today’s the day.

All of my students sitting attentive, waiting for the fray.

Pencils out, minds alert, I’ve seen it all before,

I think that they are ready to learn, history, maybe more.

But one or two they can’t sit still and it drives me kind of crazy,

The fact that they disrupt my class strikes me as just a little bit lazy.

But the rest of the class, they make me smile,

They want to learn, they tell me so, and they go the extra mile.

Disrupt

Cee’s Which Way Challenge (3)

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Since I have worked in a high school for 20 years, I thought it would be interesting if I included an entry representing where I have spent almost a third of my life. The photo was taken when I get in at 6:30 am and I always say that it is the calm before the storm!

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Time Passes, Will You?

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Kids watching clocks, hoping they’ll move.

The lesson progresses, they’re still in the groove.

As time marches on, young eyes they become glazed,

Nothing can move them in their permanent haze.

They still think they’ll pass, without having a clue,

What should they remember? Time passes, will you?

 

 

A Two Hour Delay!

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They say that teachers wait all year for the summer,

Because the cold days of January are always a bummer.

And since I’m a teacher where the snow always falls,

I anxiously await that magical call.

But to get that call, the timing must be just right,

The snow needs to falling well into the night.

So when it is snowing, I sit by the phone,

Hoping and hoping that I’m not alone.

When the call finally comes and much to my dismay,

It’s not a day off, but a two hour delay!