The Daily News
1 Anyone else a bit mixed up?
2 JAY-zuss.
3 My students had no idea as to what town they were in yesterday.
4 Yeesh.
5 Neither did any of us.
6 I swear to you.
7 This, by the way, is coming to you LIVE from 6:06 p.m. yesterday.
8 I just got home from working, and am now engaging in a glass of ice cold Crystal Light and a spoonful of Nutella. No lie.
9 I don't think anybody was prepared for Tuesday.
10 Certainly not this guy.
11 Monday was extremely stressful.
12 The accountability people were here, and we all stepped up.
13 Coming off a weekend which started with Spirit Week the week before and ended with St. Patrick's Day, we killed it.
14 Yesterday was the day my students had to re-do their skits using Shakespearean language. It was supposed to be the culmination of the last month of work.
15 <basketball buzzer>
16 The students were completely burnt out yesterday. They didn't do Tuesday very well at all.
17 They didn't seem to know what town they were in.
18 They forgot scripts, props, lines, and themselves.
19 This was across the board. I won't say I was astounded; I will say that I should have seen it coming.
20 They have been challenged, tested, poked, prodded, and drenched. Their faces melted into their hands, which rested with fingers curled on desks.
21 They looked like people who had given up on everything.
22 The best students in the district were finally burnt out.
23 I gave them time to rehearse their skits.
24 They were clearly not ready to perform. On Monday, they were pretty ready, but had shown signs of exhaustion. I wrote it off as poor but deliberate planning on my part.
25 I didn't realize how much stress we as a staff had probably put on them.
26 Nor did I realize how much stress we as a staff had probably put on ourselves.
27 The visiting committee had no idea of the zany stress their visit had put on the entire school.
28 It showed yesterday.
29 I was glad that I had already had the team bring a member to visit my class.
30 The students were done. Kaput.
31 I think in a way that I was too.
32 I allowed them to practice, but it looked like we dragged something out a little too long. The enthusiasm hit its peak last Wednesday when I was absent and had my sub remind them they had to take the skits they had written and already performed and morph them into Shakespearean language.
33 I was there the day I told them that I wanted them to do that, but it was at the end of the day. They accepted the challenge with incredible enthusiasm.
34 Unfortunately, the first day they had to work on this, I had to be out. I had no choice. I'm rarely out, but last Wednesday I had to. Family stuff. It will always trump school stuff. I had to be there for my family.
35 I also had to go up to Dad's this past weekend and spend time with him.
36 All of this led to yesterday's burn out.
37 The students can sense the interruption of our normal pace. Like any job, we fall into a certain rhythm, and things naturally unfold. When visited by outsiders, the entire rhythm of business gets disrupted. The stress starts at the top and rolls downhill, if I may sidestep the cliche.
38 Add to that a major school event like a spirit week, followed by Battle of the Classes on Saturday night, followed by St. Patrick's Day on Sunday, followed by the visit on Monday, is it any wonder that the entire place showed up torn and tested on Tuesday?
39 Personally, it is obvious to me that we it was an extended lost weekend.
40 The student were supposed to do their re-worked skits yesterday.
41 From my first class I could see that wasn't happening.
42 I'm hoping they will have had more rest today.
43 I couldn't even get mad at them. I was completely burnt out myself.
44 The entire ordeal has been looming in the background all year. I wasn't alone. We all got pushed too far.
45 The entire day seemed to be a psychological push-back.
46 Happens.
47 I feel that I had to put my real lesson plans on hold until this entire thing blows over.
48 It ends today at 2 p.m. The committee is going to report its findings to the staff at 1:30. They are done visiting classes at 11:30, and then they will go into a room somewhere to deliberate.
49 I don't know what the results will be. Fortunately they didn't walk into any of my classes yesterday, because the students looked like dazed people in an asylum.
50 Fear not.
51 Once we get back into a rhythm, all will be peaceful.
52 As a staff member, I simply didn't appreciate how much stress this stuff had put on the students. I must confess that I pushed and stretched my normal lessons more than I usually do. Multiply that times five, and you get some idea of how much our stress rolled down to the students.
53 I will apologize first thing each period today, and perhaps encourage them to step up their game tomorrow. I don't see quality happening today. I see more of a hanging on for dear life.
54 Poor kids.
55 I could see them thinking, "Make this all go away!"
56 Schools work best when outsiders stay outside. The students do pretty well when they aren't being watched, tested, examined, poked and prodded, as though they were subjects of some wild scientific experiment.
57 They are simply students. All the testing and pressure came to a boil yesterday. One could sense it everywhere. The entire feeling was, "Make these people go away! Just leave us alone!"
58 Just being honest.
59 That was my own feeling yesterday as well.
60 I am done with it. I just want to get back to normal lessons, and normal days.
61 Hopefully it will begin today.
62 My guess is it will begin tomorrow.
63 Thank goodness. This an insider's view of how schools work. Hope you find it helpful. Or at best interesting. These are the true inner workings.
64 Thanks for listening.
65 Time to sleep, then to go in.
66 Enjoy your oatmeal.
67 See you again.
68 Peace.
www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News1 Anyone else a bit mixed up?2 JAY-zuss.3 My students had no idea as to what town they were in yesterday.4 Yeesh.5 Neither did any of us.6 I swear to you.7 This, by the way, is coming to you LIVE from 6:06 p.m. yesterday.8 I just got home from working, and am now engaging in a glass of ice cold Crystal Light and a spoonful of Nutella. No lie.9 I don't think anybody was prepared for Tuesday.10 Certainly not this guy.11 Monday was extremely stressful.12 The accountability people were here, and we all stepped up.13 Coming off a weekend which started with Spirit Week the week before and ended with St. Patrick's Day, we killed it.14 Yesterday was the day my students had to re-do their skits using Shakespearean language. It was supposed to be the culmination of the last month of work.15 <basketball buzzer>16 The students were completely burnt out yesterday. They didn't do Tuesday very well at all.17 They didn't seem to know what town they were in.18 They forgot scripts, props, lines, and themselves.19 This was across the board. I won't say I was astounded; I will say that I should have seen it coming.20 They have been challenged, tested, poked, prodded, and drenched. Their faces melted into their hands, which rested with fingers curled on desks.21 They looked like people who had given up on everything.22 The best students in the district were finally burnt out.23 I gave them time to rehearse their skits.24 They were clearly not ready to perform. On Monday, they were pretty ready, but had shown signs of exhaustion. I wrote it off as poor but deliberate planning on my part.25 I didn't realize how much stress we as a staff had probably put on them.26 Nor did I realize how much stress we as a staff had probably put on ourselves.27 The visiting committee had no idea of the zany stress their visit had put on the entire school.28 It showed yesterday.29 I was glad that I had already had the team bring a member to visit my class.30 The students were done. Kaput.31 I think in a way that I was too.32 I allowed them to practice, but it looked like we dragged something out a little too long. The enthusiasm hit its peak last Wednesday when I was absent and had my sub remind them they had to take the skits they had written and already performed and morph them into Shakespearean language.33 I was there the day I told them that I wanted them to do that, but it was at the end of the day. They accepted the challenge with incredible enthusiasm.34 Unfortunately, the first day they had to work on this, I had to be out. I had no choice. I'm rarely out, but last Wednesday I had to. Family stuff. It will always trump school stuff. I had to be there for my family.35 I also had to go up to Dad's this past weekend and spend time with him.36 All of this led to yesterday's burn out.37 The students can sense the interruption of our normal pace. Like any job, we fall into a certain rhythm, and things naturally unfold. When visited by outsiders, the entire rhythm of business gets disrupted. The stress starts at the top and rolls downhill, if I may sidestep the cliche.38 Add to that a major school event like a spirit week, followed by Battle of the Classes on Saturday night, followed by St. Patrick's Day on Sunday, followed by the visit on Monday, is it any wonder that the entire place showed up torn and tested on Tuesday?39 Personally, it is obvious to me that we it was an extended lost weekend.40 The student were supposed to do their re-worked skits yesterday.41 From my first class I could see that wasn't happening.42 I'm hoping they will have had more rest today.43 I couldn't even get mad at them. I was completely burnt out myself.44 The entire ordeal has been looming in the background all year. I wasn't alone. We all got pushed too far.45 The entire day seemed to be a psychological push-back.46 Happens.47 I feel that I had to put my real lesson plans on hold until this entire thing blows over.48 It ends today at 2 p.m. The committee is going to report its findings to the staff at 1:30. They are done visiting classes at 11:30, and then they will go into a room somewhere to deliberate.49 I don't know what the results will be. Fortunately they didn't walk into any of my classes yesterday, because the students looked like dazed people in an asylum.50 Fear not.51 Once we get back into a rhythm, all will be peaceful.52 As a staff member, I simply didn't appreciate how much stress this stuff had put on the students. I must confess that I pushed and stretched my normal lessons more than I usually do. Multiply that times five, and you get some idea of how much our stress rolled down to the students.53 I will apologize first thing each period today, and perhaps encourage them to step up their game tomorrow. I don't see quality happening today. I see more of a hanging on for dear life.54 Poor kids.55 I could see them thinking, "Make this all go away!"56 Schools work best when outsiders stay outside. The students do pretty well when they aren't being watched, tested, examined, poked and prodded, as though they were subjects of some wild scientific experiment.57 They are simply students. All the testing and pressure came to a boil yesterday. One could sense it everywhere. The entire feeling was, "Make these people go away! Just leave us alone!"58 Just being honest.59 That was my own feeling yesterday as well.60 I am done with it. I just want to get back to normal lessons, and normal days.61 Hopefully it will begin today.62 My guess is it will begin tomorrow.63 Thank goodness. This an insider's view of how schools work. Hope you find it helpful. Or at best interesting. These are the true inner workings.64 Thanks for listening.65 Time to sleep, then to go in.66 Enjoy your oatmeal.67 See you again.68 Peace.~H~
www.xanga.com/bharrington
