- Yes, I have classes that tip the scales at over 40 students a period.
- Yes, I told my 7th period that we should apply for Statehood.
- Yes, due to a lack of supply, I am several desks short and some students are sitting in spare chairs, on the floor, on the counters and, at times, even at MY desk.
- Yes, due to budget cuts, we lost our duplicating clerk this year and yes, due to budget cuts, we lost our book clerk last year.
- Yes, our receptionist and attendance ladies are killing themselves making up the slack in both the duplicating and book rooms. They are saints.
- Yes, due to budget cuts, the PAR (Peer Assistance Review) program, for whom I was a consulting teacher, was discontinued, resulting in a $4400/year reduction in my income.
- Yes, hand sanitizers were installed in each classroom to assuage the paranoia surrounding the H1N1 virus (Swine Flu) giving my classroom a distinctly "Men's Room" feel.
- Yes, if a student's hands are under the desk or in their pockets, chances are he or she is texting friends--often from row to row within the same class.
- Yes, the PTSA had to beg for donations for their annual Supply Day just so I would have enough materials (paper, staplers, folders, etc) to make it through last year and the beginning of this year. Thank you; you are the Santa's elves of education.
BUT: - Yes, state-of-the-art projection systems and document cameras were in installed in every classroom last year--thank you local voters.
- Yes, we just opened our brand new stadium, where people are congregating and enjoying themselves even as I write this.
- Yes, there are plenty of other improvements that I'm probably completely unaware of.
- Yes, the colleagues in my English Department are some of the smartest, most talented teachers I've ever had the privilege to work with (including those who should still be here).
- Yes, I would include the rest of the faculty and staff in that assessment.
- Yes, the park-like setting has made driving up to the campus a joy every day of the over 6,000 days I've taught here. The recently replaced grass is a luxury we should never take for granted.
- Yes, we have some of the most hard-working, motivated, and dedicated students I've ever seen.
- Yes, I'm the only teacher who has taught in Room E-4 from the day it was built, a concrete detail of which I tremendously proud.
- Yes, I will be attending a workshop next week where I will receive a new laptop that will assist me in teaching thanks to features I can only now dream about.
- Yes, I go to bed every night feeling not only that I've made a contribution to my society, but that I have created a ripple effect in the future.
THE BOTTOM LINE? - Yes, I will teach these children. No matter what. And there's nothing you can throw at me that will keep me from that purpose.
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