One of the realities of this being my ninth year teaching here is that I'm gradually gaining seniority among the teaching staff. As staff members retire I gain seniority over the new hires. It amused me today when one of the student teachers told me where I could sit, etc., as if I were the new kid on the block. While I miss teachers who have left the new, younger. teachers' English is much better and thus they are willing to engage me in conversation. The older teacher's habit of leaving the room as soon as I begin has deprived them of the opportunity to improve their English.
Teaching grades 3-6, as I do means that the current 6th graders are now in their 4th year with me. When I taught them yesterday I was pleased to discover that they had retained much from what I taught previously. That was brought home as I taught the 3rd grade today noting the contrast with the sixth grade. There are 25 students in grade 3, so I'm working hard at learning their names...which also entails challenges in pronunciation.
While I now have a bed in "my" house...no more sleeping on the floor...the mattress has little give and my pillow is as hard as a brick. There is no air conditioning where I sleep but I do have a fan. Consequently, I'm up early, about 5:00, breakfast at 7:00, off to school at 7:30, teach one session from 8:30-9:30 and another from 10:00-11:00, lunch with teachers at 11:30 and then have the afternoon at home. Often I take the family out for dinner...about the price of McDonalds...which is an usual treat for them, That's my typical daily routine.
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| I think the caps are cute. |
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| From my right: Wid, new 6th gr. tchr., 4 student teachers near me, Aaronsee, 1st Grade teacher, Phosee, Principal |
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| I like the old, wood school and hope the new concrete doesn't open soon. |
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| The new, picket fence around my house keeps 20 mo, old, Nice, away from the snake that ate the cat. |
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| The 'skeleton' house next door has upstairs finished but no one is living there. |
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