Sick days, anyone?
My teacher union fought long and hard for my sick days. I figure I should take one every now and then. One of the down sides of living where you work (trust me, there aren't many) is that it's hard to take a day off.
Calling in sick when you live at the school is a lot harder than it sounds. I called in sick the other day, just to satisfy the great teacher union, of course. Don't worry. I wasn't actually sick.
Talk about awkward, though.
First, I don't get to sleep in. The substitute teacher woke me up when she came in at 7:00 in the morning (how dare she come in early to "get prepared"). Try coming up with an excuse as to why you're there after you called in the sub--as the lights flash on and rouse you from your slumber in the corner behind your desk. It ain't easy, lemme' tell you.
After I put forth some half-hearted story / excuse, I got the heck out of there and went where all my students go when they're playing hooky: the gym. I wasn't playing basketball, though. I figured the locker room is a big place (we're talking cavernous... the SLHS athletics department paid for it after all). A guy could get lost in there (or catch some shut eye in there, whatever). I found a little closet full of gym mats that was super comfy, but the clatter of lockers after first period P.E. showed up was too much for me. I jumped in the shower before first period was over and was fresh and ready for the day.
Of course, I had nowhere to go. I left campus and walked around for a bit, but you'd be surprised. The suburbs aren't half as nice as they're made out to be. A few squirrels, a few trees, a few students skipping school, and I was ready to go home--err--back to school.
I ended up wondering around the school rather aimlessly throughout the day. You have to look busy while you're wandering the halls. I walked by all my co-workers classrooms and that was rather informative. As it turns out, my students sleep in everyone's class. It's not just me that lulls them into dreamy time. That's refreshing, if not entirely comforting. It was a fairly uneventful day, save when I happened upon the school secretary. She saw me and then had to do a double take. I'm sure she was thinking what a dedicated soul I was--coming up to school, even when I was sick.
I walked by my classroom a time or two. The substitute was cute. She was there, sitting at the desk I normally sleep at, and reading her book. The class was running around with limbs flailing, of course. But, the sub didn't seem to mind and the students looked like they enjoyed the day off.
I can't say the same, unfortunately. My life is pretty boring when I'm not teaching.
How sad is that?
Calling in sick when you live at the school is a lot harder than it sounds. I called in sick the other day, just to satisfy the great teacher union, of course. Don't worry. I wasn't actually sick.
Talk about awkward, though.
First, I don't get to sleep in. The substitute teacher woke me up when she came in at 7:00 in the morning (how dare she come in early to "get prepared"). Try coming up with an excuse as to why you're there after you called in the sub--as the lights flash on and rouse you from your slumber in the corner behind your desk. It ain't easy, lemme' tell you.
After I put forth some half-hearted story / excuse, I got the heck out of there and went where all my students go when they're playing hooky: the gym. I wasn't playing basketball, though. I figured the locker room is a big place (we're talking cavernous... the SLHS athletics department paid for it after all). A guy could get lost in there (or catch some shut eye in there, whatever). I found a little closet full of gym mats that was super comfy, but the clatter of lockers after first period P.E. showed up was too much for me. I jumped in the shower before first period was over and was fresh and ready for the day.
Of course, I had nowhere to go. I left campus and walked around for a bit, but you'd be surprised. The suburbs aren't half as nice as they're made out to be. A few squirrels, a few trees, a few students skipping school, and I was ready to go home--err--back to school.
I ended up wondering around the school rather aimlessly throughout the day. You have to look busy while you're wandering the halls. I walked by all my co-workers classrooms and that was rather informative. As it turns out, my students sleep in everyone's class. It's not just me that lulls them into dreamy time. That's refreshing, if not entirely comforting. It was a fairly uneventful day, save when I happened upon the school secretary. She saw me and then had to do a double take. I'm sure she was thinking what a dedicated soul I was--coming up to school, even when I was sick.
I walked by my classroom a time or two. The substitute was cute. She was there, sitting at the desk I normally sleep at, and reading her book. The class was running around with limbs flailing, of course. But, the sub didn't seem to mind and the students looked like they enjoyed the day off.
I can't say the same, unfortunately. My life is pretty boring when I'm not teaching.
How sad is that?
- H.T. at 9:34 PM
