Ben Guest Assignment: Describe a typical "Day in the Life."
Given the newness of the experience, this seems like a great topic on paper, however, as I sit here and ponder what I would like to write, I'm finding it more and more depressing. I love stability and certainty just like everyone else, but I've never been one for such a structured routine. My life has become so monotonous that I find it difficult to differentiate between the days, each day being just a carbon copy of the day preceding it.
The alarm on my cell phone goes off at 5:00 each morning. I feel exhausted every time it goes off, but it's the same alarm I've had since college and it's familiarness prevents me from hating it. I do the whole bathroom routine, and by 5:30 I'm back in my room to finish getting ready. Emily does everything in her power to slow this process, but I fight her off and emerge fully dressed and victorious. By 6:00 I'm on the road heading north to Sardis, MS, usually thinking about how 38666 is such a fitting zip code for such a dreadful place.
I arrive at the school well before the majority of the staff. I like to have that twenty or so minutes of silence to center myself and mentally prepare for the day. Eventually teachers begin to arrive, and I talk with those around me while we stand on hall duty for forty minutes. The bell rings and it's time for intervention, a period specifically geared towards preparation for the state tests. Since it's not a real class and the kids all know that, I used to provide instruction that was oftentimes less than effective during that time, but now I have a co-teacher willing to provide ineffective instruction every day. I spend the rest of the day teaching biology, and by that I mean that I spend the rest of the day keeping children silent enough to hear what I have to say about biology. It's a constant battle, but in a lot of ways I feel like I'm winning it.
After six periods of biology and a planning period somewhere in there, nine times out of ten we'll have a staff meeting after school. These meetings range anywhere from fifteen minutes to over an hour in length, but they always consist of us getting in trouble for something that should've been taken care of by the administration. The more outspoken individuals among us present ideas and solutions, but it is almost always to no avail. Our administrators either don't undersand what we are trying to say, or our thoughts just fall on completely deaf ears. Rarely do I leave this place happy on a staff meeting day.
I count myself lucky if I get to leave while the sun is still up, but as winter sets in, doing so is becoming increasingly harder. Either way though, my mood usually tends to drastically improve as I begin my drive home. Once home, Emily and I will usually cook something for dinner, and then we'll settle in to get our work done for the next day. It takes longer than it should, but the shared procrastination and mutual distracting of each other help to break up the monotony of everything in a fairly big way. The best part of my day is when we're finally both done, and sleep can take hold.
If I had to sum it up, my life has become an endless perpetuation of work and sleep. Watching a movie in bed or cooking a nice dinner every once in awhile has been providing just enough refreshing stimulis to avoid going insane. The repetition and routine are pretty awful, but overall I really don't have too much to complain about.
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