Super-busy working mommy & daddy

Happy Labor Day weekend!

I have just completed my first week of school at Heritage College-Ready High School in Los Angeles. I am the only 10th grade English teacher, and & I have over 150 students. I am also continuing my EdD program at USC. Yes, after a year and half of not working, I am a sudden glutton for punishment.

The first week was a killer. I went to bed around 9pm every night. I'd wake up around 5:30am, leave for school around 6 of 6:15am, arrive at 6:40am, & prepare for classes until first period's bell rang at 7:45am. The kids get out of school at 3:30pm, and I leave campus around 4:30pm. LONG DAYS. Even though time flies when I'm at school, I can't believe I'm there 10 hours a day!

Since I teach only and all tenth grade English classes, I only have one prep right now, which is pretty sweet. I see each class only three times a week. Each class has 2 two-hour block periods and one 45-min. period. The entire school has 587 students and the majority are Latino. Since the school colors are white, grey, & black, freshman students wear white polo shirts, the sophomores wear grey ones, the juniors dark gray, & the seniors black. All kids wear either dress slacks or skirts, and their shoes must be black, white or grey. Teachers at Heritage are very strict about the uniform policy, and I have gotten into the habit of doing uniform and agenda-book checks at my door at the beginning of each period.

The students are very well-behaved and polite. They are a nice bunch of kids...good-humored, friendly, polite. Of course, each class has one or two loud, playful, distracting & distractible students, but they're 15 years old...I'm amazed there are only a few in every class. Even these kids are pretty receptive. I haven't any mean, malicious, or sullen kids. I've been very impressed so far. Good behavior goes a long way when it comes to a teacher's ability to actually teach a class.

Atticus is in day care full time, and it breaks my heart whenever I think about spending whole days without him beside me. I am in my third week of the fall semester at USC, so on Wednesdays, I have to bolt out of school at 3:30pm & rush to my 4pm class on campus. Classes end at 10pm, so by the time I come home, the bugger is already fast asleep, and I have to shower & rush to bed so that I can prepare for a long Thursday without any free periods. On Thursdays, I teach the entire day with only Nutrition and Lunch for breaks. But on Friday, I get a two-hour break from my free second period.

I don't know how I'm going to manage my homework from USC. Not only do I have weekly reading assignments to complete, but I must also participate on an online discussion board and write midterms & final papers. How my classmates in my program do this?!

Well, we're taking it a day at a time. & I make sure to spend every waking moment with Atticus on the weekends, when I can take him off of Robby's hands.

Week 2 of school starts tomorrow. Wish me luck!