Lesson Plans

I believe that lesson plans are the bane of most every teacher's existence.  It takes so much preparation and thinking ahead.  I find them difficult to write at times I like these (days when I spend 75% of the day preparing for a test, by projecting some sample questions and the students writing their answer on their whiteboard).  When the computer and teacher are missing, this equates to having to making a couple hundred copies to keep the students focused, occupy their time, and continue the preparations.  There's an hour or so (including stapling, stinking staples).

Then you have to figure in the actual writing of the plans.  Giving a stranger every minute detail of the day can be difficult.  It's like writing out the steps to making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, when you do it everyday its just routine.  But telling someone else who has never made one, it can be time consuming.  There's another hour and a half. 

Then making everything they will need to use during the day like posters, that took a little while.  And then laying everything out nicely, labeled, so that nothing gets lost or forgotten.  That look like 20 minutes. And the stress of it all, hoping they get everything done and the day isn't wasted...  I just try not to think about that. 

It just makes it so difficult to take a personal day. 

In other news, I made this sweet poster for our rally on Friday.  Yeah, I'm pretty much an artist... that's what the kids tell me anyway.  Also, they apparently don't get it because I was asked, "What is distance?"

...yikes.