Our
district was closed for eight days. When the children returned to school they
shared stories of ages old oak trees hitting their homes creating gaping holes
in their roofs, losing power, playing Monopoly in candle-lit family rooms, and limited internet access without any electronic toys. Two of my sweeties with
hearts of gold told how they, with their families visited hard-hit areas in
Staten Island and Queens to volunteer their helping hands.
When
our TVs came back on, we saw images of homes floating away and we listened to the
horrors suffered by our neighbors in the metro area. Even my eight year old students are old enough to understand
how lucky we were and that “it could have been so much worse.”
Nobody
dreamed we wouldn’t be exempt from making up the days. We absolutely,
positively believed that the state of New York would excuse some of the 8 days
and our district calendars would absorb the rest.
But
alas! There we were last week.... enduring a full week's staycation in school and to say I was grumpy would be the major
understatement of the century. That we had to work on Monday, the day of
Presidents; the day the banks, post-offices and most schools across our great nation were closed
really pissed me off. That we had a blizzard named Nemo on Friday and no school
the following Monday caused a decision to stay open on Presidents’ Day that was downright wrong.
You
see, we teachers and our kids need those days off. Our biorhythms dictate that
without cyclical days off from school learning will not be optimal; teaching
will not be either.
So
we came to school. There were children out and a couple of teachers who
couldn’t cancel vacation plans (poor things). But we came and we did our best.
And this week it’s back to business as usual. But the cycles are off. Our bodies and our minds were due for a vacation. As a result, we're all a little bit off.
And yet; as crabby and discouraged as I feel, I know "it could be so much worse."
No matter what we endure, it seems that someone always has it worse. We have to believe that or we will do nothing but despair. I am so sorry for all that you have had to go through this year. I believe we do need breaks too. It keeps the learning fresh. It's a shame legislators don't.
ReplyDeleteYes, it could be much worse. However, I was shocked so many people lost that beloved Presidents' Week vacation. I'm still shocked that schools weren't given special dispensation with regard to the lost days as a result of a natural disaster. (Sigh.)
ReplyDeleteWow! That is difficult to understand that you would not be forgiven those 8 days! Here I sit watching the ice and snow; pondering if we will have another snow day tomorrow? Thankful in some ways but also little nervous knowing that if we have too many, we will have to make them up at the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteWe lost days, too...and our break. We also lost three days of Spring Break. Sigh. But, as you say, people lost a great deal more, and many of them are still without their homes. So, I sighed and kvetched all the way on my drive to school every morning last week, and then went on with the school day. What else to do?!
ReplyDeleteIt seems that no matter what the circumstances, there is always someone worse off than we are. Those scheduled breaks that are so looked forward to by students and teachers, are truly needed. Hope things are getting back to normal for all of you on the East Coast.
ReplyDeleteYou have my sympathy. I hope spring arrives soon.
ReplyDelete