Ok, it's been my mission today to ask as many teachers as I could if it's normal to be planning the next day's lesson the night before. I am glad to report my findings: all 5 of the teachers I asked gave me a resounding "YES, that is normal, you are not crazy, and this is my (15th, 8th, 22nd) year of teaching and I still do that."
Phew. One less thing to carry around: the guilt of not having my entire week planned out.
My mentor Lora stopped by after school today and it was a breath of fresh air to talk with her. She encouraged me to ask teachers as much as I can what they are doing in Academic or Creative Writing - and to just downright steal their lessons. I voiced my concern of "would teachers be put off by my taking their lessons?" and her response was absolutely not. Teachers do it all the time, she said, and it's all a part of collaboration and teaching. Don't reinvent the wheel - talk to someone and get materials to work with. Why kill myself? I've got enough on my hands with classroom management, grading, running like a maniac between schools, etc, etc. Lora also told me the story of a long-term sub last year that had a nervous breakdown... the brave who have fallen before me....
Lesson of day 2: Par down my expectations of myself (I will not have the entire semester planned out by Saturday, I will not have the entire semester planned out by Saturday...). Ask for help. Get ideas from teachers. Let go of the fear of being annoying. Eat a banana after 5th hour for energy. Keep stash of chocolate in drawer for emergencies. Remember to pee before 4th hour.
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