One of the things I struggle with the most is pacing. Now hear me out… when I start the year, I can put my entire semester curriculum into a nice little spreadsheet, complete with tests, major projects, etc..  But then, days start getting taken away:

  • Assembly days are pretty much a waste. We’re on shorter schedules and the kids don’t feel like doing anything, especially after lunch.
  • Standardized testing days - The CAHSEE, the CSTs, STAR, CELDT… I think a good 20 days out of the year are spent on various standardized tests. The CAHSEE removes several students from periods 1-4 for a couple of days… and that’s each time they retake it. CSTs/STAR testing is a whole week gone bye bye, and then there’s the kids gone a few days later due to make-ups.
  • Pointless drills… fire drills, evacuation drills, etc.. What is the point of the drill if EVERYONE knows about it? Even the kids know.. they come to class asking, “is the drill today”?
  • Malfunctions… this year I had my heater break when it was needed the most, rendering my first few classes virtually impossible to teach for a couple of days… we were freezing. I also had the internet go down on the day the kids were in the lab (and lab days are booked a month in advance!). And in previous years, the A/C was not working when it was 90 degrees OUTSIDE (about 100 inside?)
  •  The yearly LOCKDOWN – last year, kids went into the streets to protest new anti-illegal immigration laws (or, in most cases, to get a day off from school), and schools went into lockdown mode. We kept the same group of kids for a whole day. I got lucky… I had my honors class with me.
  • Substitute days – Now, I know being a sub is a tough job, but is it really so hard to get the kids to work on a worksheet and walk around the room while they do it? I spend a good hour or two preparing for a sub, only to find out the work I left (which required nothing other than the sub going around and checking that the kids are working) didn’t get done and I have to spend the next day having the kids do the work, so that sets me back a day. That’s why I only call a sub if I’m nearing death.
  • Big Project Day, a.k.a. big absence day – any kids who is feeling the sniffles suddenly comes down with a case of strep throat on the day a big presentation is going to happen.
  • Pointless Holidays, like the one today (I guess it’s Lincoln’s birthday). Do the kids really need to be off today? Do I need to be off today? Really? I mean… I had to look up what holiday it was, all I knew is that I had the day off. Yippee!

So, with all of the above, is it really that surprising that I am two full weeks behind where I think I should be?