It's 2 am and I'm awake. As in "I know that I have to be out the door at 7am, but every time I close my eyes I can't fall asleep" awake. So I'm baking cookies for my Lit class tomorrow, and rebought Doc his Xmas present after his hint that I am getting something from Tiffany's made my gift of a GorillaPod tripod seem measly.
I know that I've been neglecting this blog and my wonderful readers lately. It's not that I feel like my life is perfect or all that, but that time seems to slip away from me these days. For example, I lost a few days of not tracking my points because one thing turned into another the past few days. Finally put pen to paper today, but i know the past few days will not be forgotten on the scale. Take the weekend for instance, I planned on grading a HUGE stack of PowerPoint projects for my 7th graders. Somewhere between the blizzard and starting to feel a sinus infection brewing, I forgot all about those papers. In fact, I seem to have misplaced them, but is not a good sign. I also have been keeping myself productive during my prep periods, which are normally the time I update my blog, because I know that I will be out the week before grades are due to attend my residency for grad school. I'd like to go away with a light heart knowing that the majority of my grades are done.
Which brings me to what really has been bothering me. I am going away to my grad school residency in January. Knowing that there was a precedent in my school to use professional development time to attend grad school classes, I applied for it. It was denied on the grounds that the school cannot afford to pay for it, as they are already over budget due to being forced to outplace a child to a rather expensive private school. After talking with the superintendent, he agreed to let me take my personal days to go there and take the other two unpaid. So, I filed the necessary paperwork, thinking it was a done deal.
Imagine my suprise when my personal day requests were denied on the grounds that grad school does not count as a "personal or professional obligation". The Superintendent's opinion: I CHOSE to go to this grad school with this requirement, therefore I need to suffer the consequences of it. However, for me to take SIX unpaid days to go to grad school would be a financial blow I don't think I can or should handle, especially with all the time that is given to me.
The union has a big, big problem with this. First off, according to our contract, we do not have to tell what we use our personal days for. Secondly, if grad school is not a "professional obligation" in a state that requires new teachers to reach Master's level in a certain amount of time, I'm not sure what is. Thirdly, allowing the superintendent to deny personal days due to financial hardship in the district is setting a very dangerous precedent.
So, the union has filed a grievence against the district citing breach of contract. It is currently in the superintendents office and he has until 3 pm tomorrow before we bring the matter up to the Board of Education. I, for one, am petrified of this happening. I'm scared of being pegged as a "troublemaker," though I'm simply asking for what is contractually given to me. In a world where nontenured teachers can simply not be offered a contract at the end of the year with no reason given, that is a very scary idea indeed.
Supposedly I will be having a meeting tomorrow afternoon with the Superintendent about all this. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I'm really scared.
Trying to sleep now.
