Teacher in a Strange Land
by John Pearson
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Last week, I went back to my school for the first time since June 6. I know that some teachers have been in and out of their classrooms all summer long, but I haven't had that option. Our school was not open to the teachers during the summer; in fact, we were told that any attempt to enter the building would be met with the lethal combo of swarming locusts and rabid hyenas.
When I did go back, it wasn't an official workday or in-service, it was just a chance to work in my classroom. My new classroom.
For the past three years, I've been in the new wing of the school. My room was huge, it had its own sink and water fountain, and it had lots and lots of storage space, including big cabinets and map drawers.
In contrast, my new classroom is about two-thirds the size of the old one, and while there are plenty of shelves, there are only two cabinets with doors. I like to keep school supplies, valuables, etc. behind closed doors so they're not as tempting a target to would-be thieves. This year, there won't be as much room behind closed doors as before.
At the end of the last school year, it was relatively easy to shove most of my stuff into those cabinets, helter-skelter, much like cleaning a bedroom by throwing everything into the closet. When I opened the first cabinet, I half expected to have a bowling ball fall on my head. Arranging everything for in class use is a totally different story though.
I stood in front of the cabinets for a long, long time, just thinking about how I wanted to arrange things. Should I put this here and that there? Will that give me enough room to fit these in that spot?
One teacher walked past my room a couple of times, hours apart, and each time saw me standing in the same position. She probably thinks I'm narcoleptic now.
My principal stopped by and asked how the transition was going. I told her that once I got started it ought to roll like an avalanche, but that I was having trouble throwing the first pebble.
Eventually, I did get nearly all of my supplies sorted and organized. Pencils, construction paper, spiral notebooks, handcuffs -- all things in their place.
The hallway that I am in now is lined with lockers, and we stored plenty of materials over the summer in the lockers as well. I still need to move some things out of the lockers and into the classroom, but I think they will definitely help with the storage issue. Also, I'll be suggesting my idea next week for the "Time Out Locker" for behavior problems.
One other big difference between this room and last year’s is that my new classroom has concrete walls. I won't be able to staple things onto the walls like last year. On the other hand, if I have another year like last year, banging my head against the wall will be so much more effective.
School starts for us in less than one week. That doesn't give me much more time to put the finishing touches on my classroom. I'd better get back to the setting up before those pesky locusts are turned loose!
John Pearson is a third-grade math and science teacher in Dallas, Texas. He has degrees in mechanical engineering from Duke University and Texas A&M, so most consider his math abilities adequate enough to teach nine-year olds. He is also the author of Learn Me Good (Lulu, 2006), a funny, fictionalized account of his first year in education. Read more at www.learnmegood.com
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