4 day work week

That's right yall, you read that right!
4. Day. Work. Week.
You know that article that is circulating Facebook and other social media, about that school district in Colorado that is all the RAVE, being bold and out there because they have a 4. Day. Work. Week.
Yeah, that hip and cool school district, that's my new school district. And I am here to tell you, this 4 day work week thing - It's pretty sweet.
But in all seriousness, you have GOT to try this 4 day thing. Why have we not thought of this sooner? It is amazing. I can't tell you how great it is to have a three day weekend EVERY WEEKEND. The time to recharge is amazing. It gives me time to decompress and spend QUALITY time with my family. Don't get me wrong, cramming everything in is challenging. Teaching everything the state requires in 4 days instead of 5 is a lot. Not to mention the days I work are longer to compensate for the shorter week. But honestly, I am at school from 730-5 or so everyday anyway regardless of when I have kids. Kid hours are 830-432, which is a long day but again 4 day work week. It makes the calendar so much easier to manage too. Potentially by the end of year I will feel differently but right now, this is AWESOME stuff.

Some Cons:
Childcare - butttt what about districts on year round? Right? Plus it is only one day of full day childcare - which is sometimes a holiday anyway because I have Monday's off not Friday's - not to mention that snow and other weather are awesome at coming in on a Monday instead of mid week too.
Time - we all complain we never have the time, and a 4 day week cuts that time but, the ME time - yall we need that time to recharge and reconnect with ourselves and our families
These are really the two big ones I can think of.
Like I said so far I am loving the 4 day week. 

After a Decade

A decade of teaching. A. DECADE. 

Here is what a decade looks like for me:

3 states. 4 districts. 6 schools. 8 classrooms. 13 administrators. 333 students. 1800+ days teaching.

Year 1: cross category special education grades k and 4

Year 2: self contained emotional disabilities grades 3-5

Year 3 and 4: General Education Second Grade

Year 5: General Education Fifth Grade

Year 6: General Education Third Grade

Year 7: General Education First Grade

Year 8: General Education Fourth Grade

Year 9: General Education Fifth Grade 

Year 10: Sixth Grade Math Teacher

Here is what I know about teaching after 10 years. It's hard. For those in the back...IT'S HARD. And I don't mean the standard duh it's hard it's your job hard. I mean really hard. Heart wrenching, bone tired, belly aching, beyond exhausted HARD. And sure I could have gone into a different career path, one where I felt more appreciated by society, where I could leave at 4:30pm and not have to bring hours of work home to do from my couch while my dog looks at me wishing we could go for a walk. A profession where I get bonuses for doing well and overtime pay for working more than expected. Instead I CHOSE to be a teacher. And I honestly question it every year and when I ask myself 

"if you leave teaching, what would you do?"

The very loud answer back is

"I have no idea, I can't picture myself anywhere but in a classroom." 

Which if I'm being honest is a not all that helpful when you're feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. 

But none the less I CHOSE to be a teacher. I choose to be a teacher every day and I'll keep choosing to be a teacher.

After 10 years of teaching I've learned that I am not going to please every administrator, every parent or every child. And that doesn't define me anymore than state tests define my kids. I've learned that the kids that need the most love ask for it in the most unloving way. I've learned that while my kids have parents and families that love and care for them, I do too. I have learned that I would do just about anything for my kids; whether they sat in my classroom 10 years ago or this year or even if they never have and they were in the teacher's class across the hall.

I've learned after 10 years of teaching I love teaching. It's etched into my soul. 

Up Next, Year 11: Seventh Grade Math

I would love to get better at Blogging. I seriously dream about blog posts sometimes and yet they never actually make it to fruition. Will definitely need to work on that.