My new baseline at home makes the idea of taking back the classroom and all the responsibility it entails laughable, but I talked to my husband, enlisted the help of friends and neighbors, and figured out how to make January work. It took me until Saturday to get into the space that used to be mine with my former partner teacher, intending to plan. But the room was a disaster. Apparently the teacher who quit had been out sick the two days prior to the holiday break. We spent two hours cleaning and rearranging the room to allow for two more desks for Korean exchange students who will be joining the class tomorrow. It's still a work in progress. I feel like I need to dust, and there is a rather large stack of ungraded work that I have no idea what to do with.
That meant I had to plan at home. I spent the evening of December 30 planning for the first week back in my old space that decidedly does not feel like my space. I had teacher's manuals and my computer spread out over half the table on a Saturday night, like old times. I don't want the demands of teaching to take over my home life again: I don't want to spend major time planning and grading when I should be making dinner, helping with homework, or just spending time with my kids. I am worried about the impact of working full time for four and a half weeks on my family. I'm also worried about the impact of having their teacher leave abruptly on the students I will be teaching this month. Will they feel betrayed by her? Will it magnify the usual January crazy or will it afford me an easy path for resetting the classroom expectations?
But I'm also excited. I know several teachers in the building are excited that I will be back, even if it's just for a short amount of time. I came home from my two hours in the classroom animated and looking forward to the week ahead. This January feels like its new beginning, full of potential.
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