No, we are not going to McDonald's...

But I do want to find some cool yet educational things for my classes to do over those last days of school.

I think that one of my "I could do better" motivations in becoming a teacher was the number of movies, parties, and "Free Play!" days my sons talked about.  Now I realize they may have been exaggerating the length and depth of these activities, and I may be setting myself for a full blown revolt, especially after studying the Revolutionary War, and will find myself scotch taped to the desk with an eraser in my mouth while my students abandon class to hang out in a room with popcorn and a Disney DVD, but I'd like them to do something they probably will NOT do for the majority of their summer break. You can't tell me kids these days will not eat a single bite of fast food or watch a single movie all summer...

So what should we do? Debates? Art? Recyclable material race tracks? Daily surprise quizzes?

As always, I am open to ideas.

25, 26, 27 hours in your day?!?

Time manipulation? Unholy alliance?
Alien technology? A trip to Mr. Johnson's crossroads?

How else do you do it?

C'mon, you educators that post pictures of clean, bright, fantasy-schoolhouse classrooms to go with  your time-saving and tree-saving yet engaging, all level differentiated, in line with every state's Standards lessons that you post on your professional quality and heavily "Best of" honor-bedecked website which connects to your Pintrest, Twitter, Facebook, and blog via smart phone, iPad, and probably ESP -- AND you have time for quality personal reflection while you share 702 up-to-the-second latest technology ideas for the flipped i21 space station classroom during a tweet-fest with all 13,756 of your closest friends and followers???

How in the holy name of Angela Watson* do you find the time to do it all?

Help a brother out!

Don't know what I'm doing wrong. I get in early, make sure I have all supplies and notes ready for each lesson, sharpen a few pencils and away we go... 6.5 hours later I kick 'em all out. Homework Club on Tuesday but none of my students ever come so it's right to planning the next day(s): Gotta... man, I can't even write down what I gotta do cause I getta more tired and need to go to bed.

Actually, I feel better already. Just the thought of bed led me to the thought of that first cup of coffee in the morning, then the anticipation-filled drive to work, then the heartbeat of joy that always thumps when I pull out the keys to my classroom door. AND I get paid for this!

*sigh*

 I guess I'll be okay...







*Arne Duncan? Michelle Rhee? Do teachers have a patron saint?