Traveling Teacher

I've officially been back at Chatfield for a week now. The students start tomorrow on a modified schedule, but this past week has been full of meetings, classroom prep, planning and socializing. I love the atmosphere of the school. We are not monitored by anyone, so people come and go as they please. It's a nice break from the stressful environment of Enterprise.

On my first day last week, I was given a key to room D115 and told, "Here is your classroom key." I ventured off to check it out, excited to start decorating. Over the past week, I've made my classroom my own. It's fabulous. Shan and Jeff got me a GC to a teacher store for my graduation present, so I've had fun shopping and buying cool stuff for my room.

I finally completed my room yesterday. I was so proud of it and excited to meet my kiddos. A teacher came into my room and said, "I was just checking out my room for Fifth Hour." I looked at her and said, "I actually have a Fifth Hour class that I teach in here. I think you might have the wrong room." Both confused, she showed me how to print off my schedule.

Horrified, I discovered that I only teach one class in "my" classroom and for the other six classes, I am traveling to other classrooms. To make a really long story short, I went to my mentor, who went to the AP (Assistant Principal), who told us to talk to the lady who is teaching in my classroom for four different classes during the day. The AP said he didn't mind if she and I switched as long as it was ok with her.

I went to Susan to request this favor. She basically said I was a first year teacher and I couldn't possibly expect to have my own classroom, did I? And, the room I'm supposed to be in for three of my classes is dirty and smelly, and she doesn't want to teach in that room. And, who gave me a key to D115? I wasn't supposed to have a key, so she couldn't understand why I was given a key to that room. And, who told me that was my classroom? And, the reason she was in D115 for this creative writing class was because it was supposed to be a non-decorated room so the students could write creatively without being distracted by posters and things on the wall.

Politely, but also seething, I explained to her that the AP had given me a key to the room. That I had already decorated the room. That I had filled the room with all my "stuff" and now if it wasn't going to be my room, I was going to have to pack everything up or lock it up so it wouldn't get stolen, and I just couldn't understand why she couldn't just switch rooms with me since I had already made this classroom my own.

She said she would think about it and get back to me today.

I hardly slept last night, tossing and turning and thinking about traveling to three different classrooms. You don't fully understand the horror of this situation unless you're an actual teacher, but I have only 140 students, so that means I will be carting around 140 text books, 140 books, and any other materials I will need for that day EVERY SINGLE HOUR OF EVERY SINGLE DAY. As if being a first year teacher wasn't hard enough, now I have to teach out of three different classrooms.

I waited patiently today to hear from Susan, and around 2pm I received an email (yes, she couldn't even come talk to me face to face) that said she thought about it and it just didn't make sense to switch rooms, and basically (in not so many words), that I'd have to deal with it.

The AP found me as I was leaving the school to ask if Susan had agreed to my request. I told him no. He was pretty upset about it, and felt really bad. I told him I wasn't trying to be a whiner about it, and I would do whatever I needed to do to make things work. I understand that I am a first year teacher and low woman on the totem pole, and I also explained that it would have been a totally different story if I had been informed from the beginning that it wasn't my classroom, but that was never explained to me.

He said he's going to talk to Susan tomorrow, but I'm not expecting her to fold. Looks like I'll be packing up my room tomorrow, and I'll be a traveling teacher.

This blows.