I love typing on a keyboard when I write, and do not feel the need to switch all writing over to that of the monks. I do not have the patience to write -- as in accumulate and express thoughts - by hand in a legible manner, so typing helps. But for daily brain-backup notes, I think going old tech is better. I came across this nicely marketed planner online and ordered one to start. Simple, thoughtful, and less cumbersome than the Franklin Covey systems I used to use. We shall see! Feels very non-Virgoan to begin a planner mid-month, but I'd like to audition it before the fall cyclone of school begins.
Ah, school. One more month and kids will again be filling my classroom with their happy and humorous chatter, making art that I couldn't have imagined. My brain will be going 200 miles an hour with no pause button until December, then February, then April, and then finally off at the end of June, again. It takes me about three weeks to get my unstressed brain back after the frantic energy of the springtime school schedule. Managing the learning and artwork of about 340 kids (8 courses, 13 scheduled classes) as well as all the administrative stuff that goes along with the actual teaching is quite the organizational task. Always looking for ways of doing a better job through better planning, and that planning starts now. I dedicate time to forecasting the next academic year and getting ready so that the art time kids' have is maximized. That is a very Virgo thing to do! The fact that my classroom is practically cold with air conditioning for my computer equipment is a bonus I'll gladly take.
Recently someone who I thought was a friend in person went on a vicious Facebook attack on teachers, and even used a private discussion we had in person as fodder for her online persecution. She was very upset that teachers didn't show enough appreciation for the taxpayers in the town, and felt that if we expressed any dissatisfaction with the way things are, we are "whining." She took the time to look up our average salary and calculate a daily rate based on the actual days the kids have school. What she is obviously unaware of is that very little planning, correcting, prepping, meeting can happen when kids are at school...because they are there! It is not uncommon to lug home big bags of papers to go over for hours at a time every day, as well as run (and pay for) errands needed for class, and putting in time before and after school to do the best job possible. Yes, summer is "off," but what it really means is it is time for teachers to get ready to fulfill their contractual obligations from September to June. The town pays what seems to be an exorbitant daily amount because it really represents many, many more hours, put in to better the classroom experience for children, on a daily basis.
As both a taxpayer and a teacher in my town, I can see both sides of the issue. Being on the inside, however, through my own work and that of many, many of my dedicated colleagues, I've seen the true nature of things, and like any career unless you are involved directly in it, it looks like something else from the outside.
Here's to a fine and productive Monday.