August Brings New Décor and a New Co-Worker

As teachers, we hate when summer comes to an end but love back to school shopping! Go anywhere and you will find back to school supplies out in June! I always grab boxes of colored pencils and some markers. I stock up my classroom.  I always have to get a new teacher planner! Everything is starting fresh and everything is new. Later on into the year my planner has a stain from goodness knows where and chicken scratches across days and dates where I have changed appointments and meetings. Yeah, I know. I need to invest in using an electronic calendar and my phone. I just find it necessary to write everything down. It’s old-school but the info seems to stick in my brain. Well, it does most of the time! Around October I would start to find my not-so-new anymore gnawed colored pencils under student desks on the floor. Ugh. No respect. I can at least take comfort in the fact that I bought each box for fifty-cents. This year, is a bit different though. I will not be needing an ample supply of colored pencils and extra highlighters for students. I am online. 

The big question after I found out that I was going all online for teaching this year was, “Where should I set-up my office/classroom?” I spent most of my time in our craft room during the spring and our remote learning time. I also spent some time at the kitchen table. I am sure some of my video-gaming students were intrigued with the poster of Halo and Destiny on the wall behind me when I was virtual in our craft room. You also would find a mannequin in the background with my daughter’s most recent cosplay costume. I am sure that came across as kind of creepy especially when the mannequin held Pyramid Head, a gruesome and thrilling character from the 1990s game Silent Hill. The kitchen table was not ideal either since I would be interrupted by our cuckoo clock and the constant barking of the dogs when our ring camera went off and we had yet another Amazon delivery at the front door! The workout room was the only other reasonable option. However, with the quarantine, we were actually working out consistently here at home for the first time in forever! So back to square one-the craft room. 

My daughter and I had the room set up with two desks. We each faced the wall and we had room in the middle. Another reason out of the million reasons that I love my daughter is that she gave up her side for me! She took down some of her posters and moved her mannequin and made room for me. It wasn’t that I was necessarily going to be using her desk, but you can see it and the entire wall from my camera view. As I started decluttering my side and unpacking some of my belongings that I brought home from my office a couple weeks ago, I decided I needed a bulletin board or something on the wall. It would add a little classroom feel! So I grabbed my trusty phone and clicked on Amazon. Butcher paper for the wall, bulletin board trim and new posters in the cart! I was going to create an inspirational wall behind me! 

The wall actually turned out pretty great. I actually felt like I had a real office or classroom. I am sure my students will be oblivious to my wall dedicated to them, but it gives me lots of warm fuzzies and feel goods. What doesn’t always give me the good feels is the camera when getting ready to go into a virtual meeting. Okay, so I had a dry spell with my make-up and that didn’t help the case, but the camera doesn’t always catch your best side you know. But if I adjust it just right and prop the back of my computer using my box of push pins, my double chin disappears! But more times than not, I turn off my camera. I am saving bandwidth and helping out everyone in the meeting. I feel I am taking everyone’s interest at hand and promoting successful technology during the meeting! 

I am used to being in the building and school during my normal work routine. I leave my office to go to the bathroom or I will drop in to counseling and ask my secretary a question. I end up chit chatting. Here at home is a bit different. Our work environment consists of myself, my daughter, my husband and our doggies. More times than not it is just myself and the daughter and doggies. I do love the fact that I have my own bathroom! It is awesome! I don’t have to make the internal debate in my head of whether I can make it to the bathroom before the bell rings and class starts or if I can just hold it until 5th period. At home, I go when I need to go. I have plenty of toilet paper and the febreeze of my choice and it’s only like ten feet from my computer. 

My co-worker on the other hand. Sheesh. She just isn’t very productive and her snoring at times really impacts my work production. I don’t know when or where she gets anything done. Her excessive chewing is nerve racking and her licking, goodness, I don’t even want to go there. On the flip side, she is a great listener and I can talk away and she doesn’t complain. She seems really empathetic and polite. She just doesn’t want to interrupt me when I am complaining about my computer not working or that I spilled my tea. I do wish she would participate a bit more. I could use her collaboration. However, she is just so cute! A couple opportunities for some snuggles really gets me through the day. Just please don’t say the word, “walk” because she just looses it.