This week has been one of the most exhausting weeks I have had in recent memory. To the nature of starting a barnd new school, we have all been working non-stop from 7:30 - 3:30 with about a 5 minute lunch and only 1 prep the entire week. I was so physically drained yesterday, that I passed out on my bed, fully-clothed as soon as I walked in the door. The balls of my feet have been swollen for two days, making walking quite difficult. Trying to solely entertain 8th graders for 8 hours a day is absolutely exhausting.
However, despite all of these thins, I cannot believe the difference in the school, the staff, the attitudes and the administration. My director has been in my room three times this week already. Twice, he took time to talk to the kids and get to know them a bit. He established expectations in regards to dress code and instantly picked out my "problem boys," making sure that they know who he is. All of our teachers are on the same page in regards to uniform, discipline and behavior in the hallway. My teaching partner is struggling, but looking for help and actually using the advice given.
As exhausted as I am, I cannot even begin to express what a difference this school is. It's everything we wanted the Don to be, but for some reason just could not pull it off. Is it the red tape? The public school system? The government? Administration? Teachers? I am beginning to think it cannot be nailed down to one single thing. So many things have gone awry in our public school system, and all we continue is put a bandaid on a pulsing artery. Where do we begin to fix the heart of the problem? Does the state make the changes, or the national government? Is deregulation the answer? It seems to be working for this charter network.
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