It was the Monday (March 29th) before spring break and the first day I had been on campus since November. My long-term assignment was due to end at perhaps the best/worst time. Ms. A (their regular teacher) was returning on Wednesday (March 31st). In-person instruction was beginning on Thursday (April 1st). Spring break started Friday (April 2nd).
Oh yes, the timing. Is bad. Very bad. There were Reasons why this was the schedule. My long-term had been set to end on that Tuesday (March 30th) since the beginning. So this all kind of hit at once.
And a programming note: I saved the school days from before spring break to post when school has resumed. During spring break last week I posted about other things.
Ms. A hadn't been to campus since about a week before things shut down last year. She was out on maternity leave. (I was wrong about her being on maternity leave this year. She was out for other personal reasons.) So, I walked in to a bit of a mess.
Her desk was piled high with notebooks. The classroom desks had cheer uniforms on them. And these boxes covered the entire front of the room.
If I was going to be teaching in the room, I would need to deal with the mess. But, she would be back a day before school resumed in person. I just had to finish up my grading and make sure the kiddos had work for those last two days.
But... I can't live like that. Those boxes...
They were how the cheer uniforms had been shipped. (I didn't talk too much about Ms. A's cheer class as there was nothing much to say. They were fine.) Someone had removed the uniforms and gotten them ready for the students to pick up. Only about a third of the class hadn't had a chance to come to the campus for them.
But the boxes...
Another neighboring teacher said if I broke down the boxes and left them outside, a custodian would remove them.
That was something I could do.
I couldn't deal with the notebooks. I couldn't deal with the cheer uniforms. Where were those to go? What needed to happen to them? But empty boxes? Those I could definitely get rid of.
It took a bit of time to break them all down, but it felt so good to have that space open up. And sure enough, a couple hours later a custodian did come by and remove the boxes to wherever the dumpsters are located.
As for the rest of it, when Ms. A returned, she dumped the notebooks (they were from last school year), and she bagged up the uniforms. And then the classroom was ready for students to return.
You did your part!
ReplyDeleteRecycling boxes ;)
ReplyDeleteLooks like a cat playground.
ReplyDeleteThere is something satisfying about box breakdowns. :) And de-cluttering rules!
ReplyDeleteAh yes, it was so nice to clear those boxes out.
DeleteHousekeeping is now part of teacher responsibility?
ReplyDeleteOh, you know how it goes. I can spend days complaining about it, or I can do it.
DeleteHousekeeping makes me giggle.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you got everything under control, in its hopefully right place. Good job.
Everything was ready for the big day.
DeleteI'm guessing breaking down the boxes also gave you something to do? Or did that make you rush through everything? At least it was an easy handover.
ReplyDeleteThat looks quite a mess!
ReplyDeleteYour post is a reminder to me to get rid of all those boxes cluttering up our front porch. Because of the pandemic, we have too many boxes on the porch.
ReplyDeleteIt happens. I've done a bit of cleaning up after things that have accumulated lately, too.
DeleteI hope she says Thank You for doing that
ReplyDeleteShe did.
DeleteI'd be right there with you trying to clean up before starting anything new. If I'm going to cook, I have to wash any lingering dishes BEFORE I start dirtying a bunch more.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's the way I work, too.
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