This Side of Third

…and second

There’s No Place Like Home

January11

I wish I had one.  Technically, I guess I do.  There is a classroom in which my desk, chair, and a few of my belongings live, but I’m hardly ever there, and I won’t be there next year.  I pack and move classrooms every. single. year.

In my district, all special education students are taught in the general education classrooms.  To be sure that the same GenEd teachers don’t always have the kids who struggle, the classrooms where the special ed students are placed rotate every year within each grade.  With that comes the rotation of the SpEd teacher. Hence, the moving, the lack of permanency, the misplacement of more things than I can remember.

There was one year that all SpEd teachers and paraprofessionals were housed in one room.  It was awesome! We were all in one, central location making it easy to collaborate, cover, help out, and really function as a team. Unfortunately, a few GenEd teachers got butt-hurt and felt that we were a club, a clique if you will.  They protested our togetherness, and instead of backing us and the design of, and reason for, the grouping, administration disbanded us the following year.  Luckily we were able to keep a form of togetherness as we were separated into primary and secondary teams.  Then someone had to go and ruin that.  Now we’re scattered throughout the school and I really have no idea who the two new SpEd teachers are, what they do, or who they work with.  It’s pretty pathetic.

As for organization, since I move so often, color coordinating is my friend.  So are stickie notes, my large desk that I shove stuff in, and that giant tub of teaching gear I keep in the bedroom.  The cat loves it as she can sit in her bed and look out over the back yard.

Since I don’t have my own room, I’ve decorated my desk with fortunes, stickers, signs, and notes. Right now it’s pretty clean and organized since I just did that last week.  I figure by the end of the month I won’t be able to see the top of my desk again.  I should really clean out my filing cabinet…

by posted under Uncategorized | 5 Comments »    
5 Comments to

“There’s No Place Like Home”

  1. January 11th, 2017 at 7:19 pm      Reply Penny Christensen Says:

    I think it is awesome you showed how great collaboration can be – maybe you’ll get a second chance at that!
    Thanks for sharing!


  2. January 11th, 2017 at 7:42 pm      Reply Jo Prestia Says:

    Hi Cyndi,
    What a pity -my whole aim is to get teachers and special ed staff to collaborate more – and yet when they see successful collaboration they don’t recognise its value and disband it instead of learning from it. Don’t give up – there is always hope. Thanks for sharing!


  3. January 13th, 2017 at 9:05 am      Reply Mr. G. Says:

    Cyndi,

    Its crazy how fast administrators cave to complaints. I’m sorry, I know what it is like to have a shared space and then to loose it and be scattered. It hinders everything administration preaches: collaboration, planning, and parity.


  4. January 13th, 2017 at 5:49 pm      Reply Melanie Ruiz Says:

    What a shame to ruin successful collaboration among teachers! That part of your post really made me cringe. It sounds like you are making the best of it though. Way to go!

    Melanie Ruiz
    @mrsruiz2301
    http://www.mnrsruiz.net


  5. January 13th, 2017 at 11:33 pm      Reply Tara Dye Says:

    So sorry to hear about the frustrations of moving every year. Does sound like you are trying to make the best of it, keep it up and I am sure it will get better eventually!


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