I Return!

My last post was written right before my last year of teaching. I had been happy, though tired with teaching art up until that point. My last year was miserable. Even art has become about the test. After 30 hours of instruction, which was stretched out in 45 minute per week increments over 5 weeks elementary students were expected to take a midterm and then the same for their final. It was too much for elementary students. I didn’t want to put pressure on them, but there was so much pressure on me that I’m sure they felt some of it. The testing for art came after their week long STAAR testing and they were just exhausted. I heard from the teachers that some of the 1st graders were crying through the entire test. It broke my heart that we spent so much time cramming for a test and not enough time exploring art.

I managed to get myself into an unforgivable position when the superintendent came in while I had kindergarten students working with Lego, blocks, Lincoln Logs, and other building toys on our Sculpture Day. It wasn’t “end project” enough. I was told they were building something, tearing it down, and building something else. Which is utterly the point. I wanted them to explore their creativity while I evaluated their fine motor skills (which are VERY lacking in low socio-economic schools). I was also asking them about “proportion” which is a huge concept for kindergarten. But that wasn’t when the superintendent walked in. He came in while I was timing some students working collaboratively on a puzzle. They had just finished it and they were talking about the different places because it was a large piece world map. They were asking about cities, states, and countries and I was tying geography in by discussing proportion to location. But you know, they aren’t tested on geography in elementary school so I’m sure that’s how I earned the scowl I received. Well, that and that I greeted him and asked him how he was doing. We’re not supposed to speak unless spoken to, but I’m from Texas and it is just rude not to greet someone when they come in and I wasn’t going to model poor manners to my students.

I managed to earn a reprimand from my principal afterwards who asked why we weren’t doing ceramics to which I answered because the building was so old it wouldn’t pass safety for a kiln. She asked if we couldn’t do ceramics that were air dry. I replied that it was because for the past 3 years I had bought all of the art supplies for all 500 students with my own money and I had chosen Lego and the like because it was something that we could use again and again. She said my lesson plan was not aligned with state standards although I had the lesson plan posted on the board and the state standard it was associated highlighted beside it. I asked if I could get with her about the lesson plan to see how to better make it. She told me to rewrite it and resubmit it to her. I did and asked if it was more of what she was looking for and she asked if it aligned and I said yes. She just walked away. Yeah, the last one did too. I NEVER could get in good with her after that. You know how there are some people you just don’t like? I was that to her and I could tell it. When I got teacher of the year she called for a recount.

I was so stressed that I developed sciatica and was walking with a cane most of the last half of the year. After Spring Break I had a teacher friend die and one of my favorite students died of cancer. I honestly don’t know how I made it the last few days of school except that I knew without a doubt that would be my last year of teaching.

Two weeks into Summer and I was waking up every day euphoric. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know what was coming next, just that chapter of my life was over. After 4 years of teaching I had managed to pay off two student loans and save up enough to take 2 years off to pursue art and open a junk shop with my mom. That is the benefit of living in a travel trailer. You can do anything you want, even on a teacher’s salary.

XOXO,

Loch