Each morning begins with a confused awakening as my customized alarm belts out Smokey Robinson's "Ooh, Baby, Baby" (surprisingly soothing to wake up to). I still haven't gotten used to the early mornings and I have struggled to remember why I'm waking up this early, and also exactly what time "this early" is. I choose between Pop-tarts, toast, and cereal every morning, but usually settle on Pop-tarts because I don't have to spread butter or jam on them and they are more filling than cereal. I pack a lunch that usually consists of leftovers (once again because it involves less energy than making a special lunch), sweet onion kettle chips my girlfriend "acquires" from work, and something sweet-lately its been a cream-cheese flan.
I make the 5 mile drive fairly quickly as the streets are usually empty. I do however sit at this certain stop light right outside the high school for a good 3-4 minutes simply watching a never-ending stream of cars go by. I usually get into the school by pushing the yellow light to the max and forcing the oncoming cars to yield to my impatient vehicle. Upon coming to a stop in the parking lot, I have to search for my ID badge and throw it around my neck, no matter how bad it stands out against my suit of the day.
The kids arrive in the classroom just after I drop my lunch into Mr. H's mini-fridge that sits under his computer desk. There isn't a lot of talking for the first block class of freshman honors US history, and I'm OK with that. Actually, it seems the other teachers are more talkative than most of the students in the morning. I grab the wooden chair and take my seat at the front of the class, but just off to the side of the podium that sits in the front. Throughout the day I busy myself with changing from that chair and Mr. H's while I grade the worksheets from the previous day.
After two straight blocks (3 total hours of class time) of this sort of action, it is lunch time. But before we get lunch, we have SWOOP duty. I'm not sure if its an acronym, or simply the title of something. All I know is that all teachers have a SWOOP duty. Mr. H's is on the third floor, in the boy's bathroom. We basically have to look out for kids trying to skip/be late to class. We haven't caught anyone yet, but its still early. I'm not sure of the penalty of being caught out in SWOOP. I should probably read up on that...As we get out our lunches, my leftovers and Mr. H's block of colby-jack cheese, an apple, and a diet Lipton Ice Tea, W. comes in. He's been teaching there for three years now. He's a nice young man and seems to have a pretty good head about himself. Him and Mr. H usually talk about the Cardinals baseball. Sometimes I join in and am thankful that it doesn't really take much to sound like you know what you're talking about with baseball. It seems that if you get into it for a year and listen to some announcers, you'll have many of the secrets of the game revealed. This seems to be an inside route amongst the teachers. Usually within 10 minutes, Mr. O comes in from down the hall to let us know his opinions on things. He's an old bastard with a bald-U pattern and a white moustache. He likes to hike up his jeans as he talks. He is also right about everything. Also, he will talk your damn ear off. One of the first days there he decided to talk to me about my History teachers at the university that he knew, and of course all of them had flaws. I got him to shut up by simply saying "well, we all have some faults I think...except for you of course". He took it in good humor, but got the point. I try not to talk to him that much, just like the other teachers.
We have a planning period attached to lunch that goes into the third block. For me, that means I have an hour and a half to vainly prepare my lessons and fill out the lesson plan guides that will be scrutinized by my soup and by our education advisor. For Mr. H it means time to check out the news online. He's got his routine locked down. He's tired of surprises. I am too, but I'm not quite in the position to deal with it like he can.
The last block of kids are easily more excitable/annoying/talkative than the other groups. They've had lunch, and they've lost the lull that follows lunch, and they are ready to go home. I continue my grading while simultaneously keeping an eye on the kids to see which ones might give me trouble when I get up in front of them. There are a few, but they don't notice me watching them. Right now I am nothing to them except some kid in a suit that looks like he might have to do something in front of them sometime. They don't realize I will be running their class for the next three months.
Finally its time to go. Mr. H and I bolt with the students and try to make it out before the buses jam everything up. That's basically it in a nutshell. I think that is pretty much how my semester will be. I will of course be adjusting for the use of my free time. Right now, its OK. I've got my first day of teaching written up and am just waiting for the chapter to be finished by Mr. H, then I'm on. Consequently this blog will probably updated less frequently after that. I'll do my best though. More later-
Currently Listening-Chase This Light by Jimmy Eat World
Currently Reading-All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque-This is responsible for my awesome-present tense narrative. If you haven't read this book, drop what you have planned and do it. It is elegantly simple and strangely profound. Guess its a classic for a reason.
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