Tuesday, May 19, 2009

It Boggles The Mind...what's left of it.

I wore wool socks to bed last night. I awoke to a frightfully chilly house and stumbled out to the car for the morning commute to discover that it was only just above freezing out there. My classroom remained frigid for the entire day and no amount of sunlight hitting the windows could bring the temperature up enough to make me take of my stylin' velour hoodie. I was grateful that I'd thought to continue in the wool sock tradition for the day.

Half of my class is sick and spent the day sneezing, shivering or (heaven help me) vomiting and some didn't bother to even show up. The rest of us huddled together in one corner of the room, enveloped in a fog of disinfectant and hoping for the best. We chanted magical spells and threw rocks at anyone of a sickly nature who thought to even venture near us.

Sickly, sneezing children passing disease back and forth while confined in a small classroom. Arctic temperatures raging all around us and preventing the opening of windows, thus ensuring that we will never, ever release the germy horror. This is the stuff of January. Maybe even February.

But in May? The week before Memorial Day, no less? That is just madness.

With five weeks to go before the end of this most challenging of school years, I can expect the weather to turn soon. By week's end, I suppose I'll be whining about the heat and you will wonder why you even bother stopping by since you've heard it all before. At least it will be seasonal, though.

On the plus side, the cooler temperatures do keep my third floor classroom from totally overheating. We learned the hard way last Fall just how bad it can get in there when the sun beats down on my little corner of the building. It also inspires me mightily to knit upon that sleeve I've been working on. Sleeve-knitting in late May would normally seem weird. Not so when you wake up to find frost on the lawn!

On the negative side, the kids in my school are not fooled one little bit by the weather. They know that the end is near. They further know that we, their hapless teachers, are kind of tired. And that our power over them has limits. Sure, we have progress reports to hold over their heads next week. And final grades will probably sting a bit for some of them. But, in the end, we will lose our hold on them in just over a month. They know this. They have us right where they want us. We still have to show up if we want the paycheck, but we can't make them learn nuthin' if they ain't of a mind.

I cling to my sanity in a variety of ways. I knit, of course. That is soothing. I maintain a rigorous (sort of) schedule of physical exercise and then I eat leftover birthday cake. There's something of a balance there, I suppose.

I also seem to be spending a great deal of time listening to this song. It is currently in the #1 spot on my Ipod playlist.






I wonder why...

SA

10 comments:

sheep#100 said...

I talked to mom today who is so hyper-worried about H1N1 virus transmission that she is seriously considering blowing off a trip to Broadway for which she already has tickets. She muttered something about calling the pediatrician and face masks for the seven-year old.

This whole paranoia over the flu is beginning to give me a headache...

Karen said...

I wonder if some of the sniffling was allergies. At least they aren't contagious.
Yesterday I took my son to the doctor (they diagnosed allergies BTW) and they have a sign saying they will not give out face masks because there is a shortage. Only those with flu-like symptoms can have them. Lucky for us we were the only people in the office.

Donna Lee said...

We are all sneezing here,too but it's allergies. This cool (ok, cold) wet spring has kept the pollen manufacture way up. I can't believe it's Memorial Day this weekend and it hasn't been consistently warm enough for shorts. Summer starts in a few weeks and I'm still wearing the wool socks.

Anonymous said...

Only 5 weeks left of the school year? Wasn't it just yesterday that you were talking about going back after summer vacation..?

my how time flies when you're havin' FUN :)

mia

Anonymous said...

The weather sure has been crazy - I've actually had to break down and turn on the heat in the house the last several days! Tomorrow is supposed to get in the 90's though; that's more like it (I know, most people like a happy medium but I like it HOT).

p.s. my word verification is "boxem" - maybe that's what you can do to your students' ears if they don't listen to you.

Cursing Mama said...

It is - I kid you not - 87 degrees in MN today; it will be 60 just in time for the holiday weekend when I'm supposed to be sunning myself by the lake.

With only 5 weeks left, isn't it time to get out those index cards of summer?

knitseashore said...

Reading your post made me feel so much better...misery loves company. I have been more sick this spring than in the last few years with the stupid allergies, and am nagging Mother Nature to please turn up the heat!! I hope she'll turn on us in time for the weekend, so it will finally start to feel like summer, and we can put our socks AWAY.

Hope you survive your last few weeks of school !!

Anonymous said...

I don't suppose the educational establishmental administration would look kindly upon you if you just declared every day of the last five weeks to be game day? and broke out the Scrabble and the Risk and the Yahtzee? Nah, I didn't think so.

Knitting Linguist said...

Frigid weather, vomiting, and one month before the end of school do not a good combination make. Chocolate cake is the only solution.

Kath said...

The little buggers vomit too??? Oy! I'm desperate enough for a job that I'm actually applying for an office job at our local school. The list of possible job duties is quite lengthy but,,,but...no one said there might be vomit!

I just do not have your strength....