Involuntary Perseverence

 This week I have been thinking about the changing classroom experiences, the actual physical location of my classroom that I have had in my 23-year career. While the Carolinas are full of smiling faces and beautiful places, it is also a place where the average rainfall this winter is about 5 out of 7 days (not a scientific estimate, just my bad attitude assessment). These thoughts have been inspired mainly by offensive amounts of rain this February. I am sensitive to an all-day soaker because I teach out of a trailer. My department volunteered to relocate to the trailers in 2017 with the expectation that our new school would be finished in 2020, and that we would be ahead because we would have things somewhat packed up and ready to relocate in 3 years. But then 2020 did its 2020 things and we are still teaching from our tiny homes. Up to 5 times throughout the school day, I find myself putting on my coat, getting out the umbrella, and hustling into the building for my restroom break, because, hydration. 

Reflecting on my career, I did a mental rundown of my classrooms over the years. It has looked like this:

Years 1 & 2. My first two years teaching I taught at the middle school for 4 periods, drove to the high school over my lunch break, then taught for 3 periods. Looking back, I think, how did I pull that off effectively?

Years 3 & 4. My next two-year gig had me sharing a classroom with others. I taught out of a classroom during the veteran teacher's free period. This was not so bad because the classrooms were next to one another. 

New School, Back to the Bottom. For the next 2 years, I was a floater, pushing my cart from classroom to classroom, wherever a teacher was on their free period. This only ended when new school construction was completed and I finally got a classroom of my own! I taught for 3 years from a great room.

ILHS. The stint at my current school has been 13 years, and in that time I have been in 3 classrooms. One year in one, then down the hallway for 2 years, one classroom on the other end of the building for 5 years, then out to the trailer park. And here we are!

I am Jealous. In all of this shuffling around I have tried to see this for what it is. In the early days at ILHS it was an administrator caught up in micromanaging and asserting authority, but now it is just the best use of space. On those rainy days I get downright resentful. I have paid my dues and been the damn team player time and again. I have seen the new teachers arrive and get comfy and cozy in their full-sized classrooms. I am happy for them, but I suffer from twinges of jealousy. 

Perks. Then again, there are perks to being out in the trailer. I have a direct line of exit at the end of a long school day. My vehicle may be parked in a mud pit, but its proximity to my room is convenient. End of perks.

In all, this shuffling from room to room has brought me an appreciation for the space I have, and the realization that I'd rather have my own room in a trailer than be a rookie pushing a cart, especially in the time where having a computer plugged in is non-negotiable. It has made me a stronger, more resilient employee, not to mention a minimalist teacher. My walls are bare, minus student artifacts, and I am counting down to the days of not parking in soggy grass and a drier walk to the restroom. 

I also have a room that maybe isn't full of students at the moment, but I have students. That makes me happy. And even if they are silent and masked, I can catch a smile or two at some of my corny jokes.