Schooled by Stephanie Jankowski

Author:Stephanie Jankowski [Jankowski, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Page Street Publishing
Published: 2019-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

The Month of May Can Go Straight to Hell

Every profession has its peaks and valleys, triumphs and challenges. But I don’t think any other is as severely compromised by one month out of the year as teaching.

We all have seasons that are busier than others. My professional photographer pal disappears every year from June through September during the height of wedding season. The men and women in charge of road prep and snow removal ’round these western Pennsylvanian parts are used to working crazy hours in the winter months. I imagine labor and delivery nurses are extra busy every year around November 14 because of the people who got extra busy on February 14! Ha!

Wait. My birthday is November 14. Ewww, I no longer want to talk about this.

I have a point: If you’re in education, please stand and testify that our valleys and challenges and busy schedules all collide in the month of May.

September is a new beginning, full of possibility and promise. Students are excited to see friends and show off their new kicks, while teachers are rejuvenated, their reservoirs of energy and patience having been restored over the summer. Floors are clean, things are in their place and smiling faces fill hallways and classrooms.

October is fairly calm with the exception of Halloween. Elementary school teachers dread it because of the chaos and sugar, while we secondary teachers are always on high alert for that one student who pushes the envelope with his costume. Once during a school Halloween parade, a senior wore regular street clothes and a saucepot on his head. Took me a minute before I realized he was dressed as a “pot head.” Sigh. I’d be cool with Halloween if everyone would just give me their chocolate and not be stupid, but alas, ’tis never the case. Although it is only one day of the whole month, making the rest of October easy-peasy.

November hits and everyone is ready for a breather. Both school districts and the calendar have taken proactive measures to accommodate us: parent-teacher conferences, professional development days and Thanksgiving provide a much-needed reprieve from the daily grind. We head into December with high spirits.

December is a celebratory month because of the holidays, but mostly because we see a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of an extended vacation from school. Can I get an “Amen”? The shorter, colder days also allow us to hibernate after school, so once the last bell rings, we’re going home and not leaving until morning.

January feels fresh like September, with an extra layer of resolve added to it. Because we’re not in school for the full month, January seems very doable. And then comes …

Farch. February + March = a lifetime and is generally when I begin reconsidering my career path. Even in warmer climates where never-ending gunmetal skies and depressing freezing temperatures don’t exist, there are no major holidays to look forward to. Farch drags ooooooonnnnn and ooooooonnnnn. By March 31, I have cashed in a mental health day or three and am ready to relocate to the Cayman Islands.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.