I went to the "office" today. As I finish a pile at home, I take it back into work and reorganize. I wish I could say that I don't bring any more work home with me, but I always seem to bring something else to work on. Today I took back Algebra 2 (I got through enough last week that I will be set for about the first 3 weeks of the year) and I grabbed some Geometry, since I will now be teaching a section of that in the Spring.
I've also been going into work periodically so that I can run copies of stuff that I know I am going to need that first week. I hate waiting in line for the copy machine during the 2 days we have before school starts (as we know that's the time they always break!), so I try to get as much done as possible beforehand. So I was STOKED when I found out we received our new machines (they are Cannon and not Xerox) since the fiscal year just started and we have a new contract. I tested this machine a few months ago and I was SOOOO happy with what it offered. I also found out that they are in our new staff lounge!! Which means that come August 13th, we will have an official staff lounge. We had just been using an empty classroom, but with the huge growth in our enrollment, we will need all available rooms for the new teachers we have hired (last count I saw 24 new additions to our site!).
The other simple pleasure I encountered upon arriving was that my classroom had just had its deep cleaning. The custodial staff had stacked all the desks and chairs, moved the other furniture. They completely dusted and cleaned the cabinets, counters, and other surfaces, and they had just finished with the carpet. It looked so spotless and wonderful in there!!
My simple happiness: New copy machines and a super clean classroom! What more could a math teacher ask for!
Experiences of a high school teacher.
