List of Grievances

I have a joke for you.

It’s two days before spring break. You’re coasting on a useful and important writing unit, a practice that your students have been forbidden up until after the state test because writing is not tested.

And you get notice of a formal observation to take place in 36 hours, with a pre-conference taking place in a meager 12. But wait! You aren’t going to be there tomorrow because you have to spend the morning in court, so your conference will take place the morning of.

Did I mention that the observation takes place the last day of school before break?

I choose to laugh, because otherwise I might cry.

I’m not making excuses; I understand that I can be observed at any time and really do work hard in every class. But observations at a school are more like a checklist and a series of “gotcha” moments. Did she use group work? Did she time independent reading to under twelve minutes? Did she include the words “in order to” in her objective? (Oh no, she did not).

And this is my final formal observation of the year.

Outside of the curriculum. The day before break. No time to make changes after the pre-conference like there should be.

Last summer a teacher told me she keeps a private running list of grievances on her desktop as therapy. I get it now.

On a positive note, during my observation my kids joyfully, enthusiastically, and with great mayhem shouted out the definitions of simile and metaphor and personification and figurative language. It doesn’t look neat and tidy but they sure were involved, with me standing on a chair and shouting the key words.

I think I got marked down for that.