Hello? Hello? Is There Anyone Still Out There?

First of all, let me apologize about the long hiatus.  The beginning of the school year is always hectic and this year was especially chaotic and unpleasant.  We have an almost completely new administrative staff at my school this year, which means lots of changes and even more snafus.  Because this is a public forum and I would very much like to be tenured this year, all I will say is that this year has been a bit of a shock for me and I'm not entirely happy with how things are progressing at my middle America high school.  It's also the first year that I have started school and also been a mommy.  That was almost impossible for me.  Even though I am not the most patient parent and sometimes being home with S. this summer and entertaining him endlessly made me want to pull out all of my hair, I still really loved it.  I didn't used to think I was the type to be a stay-at-home mom and I certainly couldn't just be a mommy at home, but I'm really hating being away from my sweet kid all day long, and I think it will get much worse once I have more than one.  On top of that, I'm really hating my job right now.  

I'm getting so sick of managing other people's behavior, which is at least half of what teaching is.  I am so impatient with my high school students and feel like they really should have a better handle on how to act.  I have to remind myself that they are still just kids and they will sometimes act like kids, no matter how much they want to be adults and be treated like adults.  Also, I have realized that I will never be able to be the kind of teacher I could be or that I want to be because I don't have the time during the work day to lesson plan, to grade, to copy, and to create materials for the kids.  I also don't have access to the resources I need to be a great teacher.  Those two things are driving me crazy, and they will never change.  On top of that, my salary is truly crappy.  All in all, I am very unhappy with work.

On a happier note, S. is doing so well.  He is crawling like crazy.  He just took off at daycare one day last month and he hasn't stopped since.  He's also been pulling himself up on any available object for a few weeks now and last weekend he climbed up out stairs like he had always done it. He babbles all the time and is starting to say dada.  I predict that he will be walking before he is ten months old and will continue to speak his own special language until he is three.