high school art class

Diary of yesterday and today

I get to school around 7:00 yesterday and begin preparing the room for the day...turn the computer on, get the assignment together, straighten up the desks a little better....then I lock the door back and go sign in. Nothing seems unusual today--I pick up the bulletin and attendance record from yesterday, check my box, and head on back to the classroom. Typically, while seated at the computer looking over mail or checking enrollment (it has been changing every day for the past week), I will get a visitor--a student I no longer teach, but who is consistently coming by to get advise on a portrait drawing. This is a student I have put in extra hours with during art club after school on Wednesday's. He has come a long way in his ability and is a little slow with communication, so some days I really don't feel like trying to understand his questions, but i do it anyway. Finally I will say something like "don't be late for class" and he will hurry on.
On this particular day, he didn't even get a chance to talk--he came in the room about the same time as a phone call from my fellow art teacher saying "isn't this the day the representative is coming to talk to our students?" Oh my--I told the young man standing there with his latest drawing--sorry-we'll look at it later--and I took off to the library---I needed to check on reserving the multimedia room. This day slipped up on me this time. I had to wait on the librarian to get to the library so I could check on the availibility--wow it was actually available---I checked on what I needed, then went back to the classroom--the final bell was about to ring. I announced the change taking place that would override what was written on the board. We were going to hear from the art institute. My students are mostly 9th graders for the first two blocks and pretty immature---some of their comments were embarrassing--but they've not even begun learning in this class --they don't know hardly what art is even about...here is this lady talking to them about culinary arts and more----it was great seeing how suprised they were to know that preparing food could be considered ART. A few students behaved badly enough that I had to write them a discipline letter referral (to copy and get signed).
The end of third block finally came, along with lunch--the last lunch---scrape the bucket to get some cabbage--I enjoyed the stuffed bell pepper--don't know why she keeps cooking them when the kids hardly touch them--maybe it's for the teachers.
After school, the art club is suppose to meet--a bulletin announcement told of the "important meeting", but no one shows up except the young man and his portraits of course. We were going to make clay beads to fire, then string up to sell for valentines day in the lunchroom. I told him--"since no one is coming to help us, we are not going to do this alone" I wish it could have worked out---or did I? Too much is going on for me to be in to the art club--not enough members either--I really have not done well with them the past two years. It is my poor planning.
Today I go to school, and have a new set of problems. The bookkeeper calls and says a receipt is missing that she has to have by tomorrow. I looked and looked in my purse and couldn't find anything---decided to go out to my car which is parked right beside my door---the students in first block were working quietly, so I went out, praying to the Lord to help me find it--I had almost given up when I saw the packs of parchment paper still in the floor board---that was such a while back--surely it is not with that, but there it was, in with the parchment. Thank you Lord. Then I had another problem--an email saying that I missed an important workshop/training session that enabled me to get mentor pay---I had gotten a check during Christmas break for several hundred dollars and wondered what it was for---just presumed it was due to the raise, and my last check wasn't right. I thought no more about it---then today I found out why. During my prep this afternoon I had to attend a workshop on how to post your professional development online. That ended up easy, but just more work for me to do. There are a lot of changes going on in the educational system with trying to get everything online.
After this workshop was over I continue working in my room, getting grades for the last project down in STI and preparing for the substitute tomorrow while I am out with my husband in the hospital. I am glad to be home for a little while.