Too...Much....Longer....

16 1/2 days of school remain. I'm supposed to have a meeting on Tuesday with the principal and the curriculum director to discuss the ELA program for next year. Assuming, of course, that I will be returning. I'm fairly certain that I won't find anything else. We are supposed to be getting new textbooks (McDougal-Littel, which I have used before and LOVE) so that will improve things. We're also switching back to a "normal" schedule from block scheduling. This means that we need to figure out how to juggle the two ELA classes that kids will have each day. Currently one is theoretically just reading and the other one is writing (I teach this section). Both Deb (the other ELA teacher) and I have been saying that this is a ridiculous set-up all year. How can you read in isolation from writing, or vice-versa? So we have a few options:

1. We can each take one class from each grade level, but then we would need to have the classes scheduled back-to-back in order to fill in the schedule. It would also mean that we would have to really coordinate our lessons, and I am WAY too independent to have this work well.

2. Similarly, we could each take a class from each grade level but have the classes leveled. This would create the same scheduling issues plus the issue of figuring out who would be in which class.

3. We can each teach something slightly different so we could each see all kids & classes. The current thought is that one of us would teach a more traditional ELA class and the other would teach grammar/vocabulary/etymology etc. If they go this route, I don't know which class I would get. Obviously literature is my strength, but Deb had been there longer and should get dibs over me. Not sure that our desires will factor into the decision-making process at all though.

So it will be interesting to find out what the administration has planned...it always is.

We have Spring Fling coming up, which is basically a funfair at the school. No classes, just games, inflatables, and (wait for it) THE DUNK TANK! Of course all the middle school teachers decided to work the dunk tank. So it better be warm on that day, because I will be WET. I am not sure why the school feels the need to basically lose a day of school for this, especially since the behaviors we deal with on a daily basis don't really deserve to be rewarded. No one consults me, however. The good thing is that kids are supposed to come with their families and can leave whenever they are ready to. So most kids will be chaperoned by their parents (as much as they are ever chaperoned, at least) and probably some of them won't come at all. Which is cool and the gang with me, obviously.