THE ONE WHERE MY MOM DIED 2010-2011: Wichita Public Schools: White PreK-5 Library


The 2010 School year was tough. My Mother had lived with breast cancer for several years. She was going down hill. I started taking off as many monthly Professional Development days that I could. It was easy to be gone on those days because they involved an AM Specials meeting at our School and a PM district wide meeting with other Librarians. I could tell that our district Campus Support LMS did not like that I was gone all the time and missed a lot of these meetings. What could I do? 


A strong rumor was floating around that the High School Librarians jobs were going to be cut as a way to save money for the school district. Librarians were allocated on a yearly basis so it became commonplace to wonder if you would have a job the following year? This is due to the fact that when I was a Librarian we were NEVER a part of the contractual planning time that teachers were guaranteed each week. I focused on becoming indispensable so that my job would NEVER get cut. I would go to work sick knowing that if a substitute teacher showed up for me, they would be pulled to fill another substitute teacher vacancy of a classroom teacher. I put pressure on myself to never miss work. If/when I did, Teachers missed their plan time. Teachers need and deserve their contractual plan time and I was not going to make them miss it. No one ever told me that I had to take this attitude. It is a pressure I put on myself. When a specials sub job was not filled and a teacher did not get their plan time, there was hell to be paid in how some classroom teachers treated you. The teachers in my building ALWAYS had extra time on top of their contractual planning time. Why were some of them so nasty when substitutes would not fill our positions? Sometimes we would offer (and get compensated) to take double classes so that the teachers would get their plan time. It was exhausting. I honestly believe that the pressure I put on myself caused me a lot of anxiety. It is something that is still a part of me today. I am hopeful that when I retire I will learn how to calm down. WOW, sorry long rant. I just wanted to set the stage about what it was like for me the week my Mom died.


She went into the hospital on a Saturday in early April. I would go and visit during my lunch which luckily had plan time next to it. My Principal Marcia Sheplar was so gracious and good to me. I was not pressured to be at school, I pressured myself to be there. I believe I ended up taking one day off that week which luckily did get filled with a substitute. My Mom died the following Saturday. I was in the room when she passed. It was one of the hardest experiences of my life. I DEEPLY REGRET THAT I DID NOT TAKE OFF THE TIME TO BE WITH HER DURING HER LAST WEEK. I told myself I would never do that again. 


Life went on and our oldest son graduated from Campus High. He was going to go to Cowley County Community College in the fall. He decided that he no longer wanted to attend church and be Catholic. It broke my heart. It was initially hard for me to accept but I eventually did. Our youngest son was going to be a Junior at Campus High.


Look for my next blog entry on 4/8/22 entitled THE ONE WHERE ONE SON WENT TO COLLEGE AND THE OTHER ONE WENT TO SPAIN.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy 84th Birthday to my Mom in Heaven

Image
Mom doing flash cards with Michelle and I in 1969 Happy Birthday to my first Teacher, my Mother. If my Mother were still alive today she would have been 84 years years old. Today I would like to use my blog entry as a way to honor her and her teaching career. My  20 year old Mom having fun when she was not teaching Mom graduated from Rolette High School in 1956. She then attended Minot State Teachers College where she received her Associates Degree in Elementary Education in 1958. In those days a Bachelor's degree was not required to become an Elementary School Teacher. Her first Teaching contract was for the Max Public Schools where she taught with her older sister Charlene. Mom and Aunt Charlene at the Max High School Prom I recall my Mom telling me that she and her sister were required to attend the school prom and that dates for them were arranged. I also remember my Mom telling me that she would pick out her outfits for the week and polish her nails on Sunday so that eve...
Read more

2008-2009 The One Where I Tell You About How Technology Changed Education

Image
THE ONE WHERE I TELL YOU ABOUT HOW TECHNOLOGY CHANGED EDUCATION 2008-2009: Wichita Public Schools: White PreK-5 Library During the 2008-2009 school year I noticed that students' behaviors really started to become more challenging. I honestly believe that this had to do with cell phones now becoming common. I believe that this was the beginning of what I call THE BIG DISCONNECT. As more parents “plugged in” less attention was given to their children. Of course you see it today all the time, a child in a store starving for their parents attention while the parent is paying more attention to their phone. Believe it or not this Technology Teacher believes that Technology will be the death of our society. I tell my students all the time to put down their devices and give them a break. Learn to listen and talk to one another actively. Don’t make Technology such a priority in your life. In my opinion this was the beginning of students' increased need for attention as it was lacking a...
Read more

2005-2006 The One where I got to be in one building again.

Image
THE ONE WHERE I GOT TO BE IN ONE BUILDING AGAIN  2005-2006: Wichita Public Schools: White PreK-5 Library 2005-2006 School Year Photo It was great being 6.2 miles from School. Our oldest son would go to school with Brad in the morning and I would drop off our youngest son at his Elementary School. Both boys would come home with Brad. On a no traffic day my commute was less than 10 minutes.  The Professional Development day that had started a few years earlier somewhat forced my Specials Team to be a unified group. Up until then Specials Teachers really only depend upon themselves. The creation of a building schedule was no longer determined by our building. It was now determined by the school district. Although I was NEVER guaranteed a job on a yearly basis (due to Library not being contractual planning time), our PD day pretty much meant that my job would not get cut. As I mentioned in another blog entry the addition of the PD day was the beginning of our district's substitut...
Read more