~Not overloaded, this is NORMAL
2005-08-24 - 6:24 p.m.

I don't want a job where I have to organise myself. I want a job where someone gives me something to do and I do it and they give me something else to do and I do it and then it's time to go home so I put it all away and go home and know I've done everything I was supposed to do and relax.

OK, that's not strictly true. I like having a fair amount of autonomy, freedom to do things my way and liberated from someone looking over my shoulder. The problem is that I can't adequately organise myself in a job where I am expected to be juggling literally twenty (at least) things at once. One kid needs and Individual Learning Plan (which is practically a formality, a bit of paper for the records), but about five of mine actually need separately planned activities which support their lower needs, about another five need to be extended because the class average is lower than it should be and these kids are missing out on learning what they should be learning at their age because the rest of the class is slow. I need to set goals and update my portfolio for my PRP (professional...review...performance...r...p...something), I've got to set more goals and strategies for implementing them for the Transforming Learning online project, I've got to actually implement those strategies. I've got to write critiques of my student teacher's lessons and transfer my students' Numeracy Interview data to disk for the Numeracy Coordinator by the end of the week. I've got to correct the home study from two weeks ago, write comments on the tasks students have completed for their portfolios so far, update the attendance roll with the past three weeks' of absence notes from students' parents. I've got to type up the minutes from the last Performing Arts Festival meeting and email them to the other schools involved, tell the principal that one of my students saw the kid who threw rocks at the school windows on Monday evening, arrange to pick up from another primary school a different version of the National Anthem than the one we use at APS. I've probably forgotten quite a few other rather important things - oh, I've got to coreograph the last parts of the dance for the Performing Arts Festival, organise someone to help me with the remaining rehearsals and to attend with me at the Festival rehearsal next terms and type up (and get approved) a permission note for the students to attend the festival. I've got to find some puppeteers to come to the school and perform next term for our Integrated topic on puppets, I've got to find my edumail username and password (again!), I've got to set up an indoor worm farm by the end of the week for students to observe...Oh, and at sometime (although not at school, because I've got my student teacher to look after during Art and a curriculum day when I'd normally have P.E. & Library...) I've to actually plan and teach some lessons!

I should, therefore, be working on all of that right now. However, it's 6:15pm, dinner's not even cooking yet, my left shoulder and arm and neck are being achey and twingey, I'm tired and want to relax. Besides, Ella's singing on itunes. *pout* It's like still being at school. "No, I haven't done my homework yet..."