Dismissal Time

3:05 is dismissal time - for kids. The teachers can leave a half hour later, in theory.
Monday, an Equity Team* meeting 'till 4:30 then I still had to pick up some of the flotsam 28 students leave in their wake and organized materials for the next morning. I think I left by 5:30.
Tuesday, spent time looking through our field trip folders, trying to decide on a field trip that might fit in with our Science unit, Animals 2x2, had an unplanned 20 minute discussion with a parent, put up pictures for the science unit. I think I left at 5:30 again.
Wednesday, no staff meeting but we had to look at math data and select one skill/concept which we will intentionally focus upon and we had to determine a tool to use for pre and post assessment. Then we tightened up our field trip plans (Top Secret),organized our plans for the morning and at 6:15 we headed out to the pitch black parking lot. (Burnt out lights. It costs $400.00 for the 'cherry picker' truck to hoist a worker in a bucket to the top of the light pole, so that is not happening anytime soon.)
Thursday, held a planned and totally worthwhile conference with a parent; but we had said 15 minutes and it was 45. The fish arrived today, in boxes insulated by Styrofoam and with a activated heat pack nestled inside. No dead fishies! Getting them situated in their tubs of dechlorinated water and figuring out what to move where so the fish can be at viewing level for the kids took roughly a half hour. Then two more hours of preparing plans for the substitute on Friday and I left at 7:10, the last car in the parking lot.
Friday, After a day of Dr. appointments. I head back to school at 4:30 to see what fallout the sub has left behind and prepare my lessons for Tuesday (Yippee, a three day weekend!) the sub was a reliable regular and everything was in pretty good order even down to a note with a note that said, "We got everything done but gee, this is a chatty bunch!" Tell me about it, I thought with a grin.

*I previewed (skim read) Uprooting Racism; How White People Can Work for Racial Justice by Paul Kivel The main point the author makes is that while no one is responsible for the color of their skin, it makes a crucial difference to be white and we ARE responsible for how we respond to racism. The chapter on Voting certainly got me thinking, perhaps more so because this is an election year. I was shocked at all the voting discrimination that was present as recent as the 2000 election; African Americans and Haitians being harassed by police at polling places, their names being removed from the rolls, being asked for extra id, and having the polls close early on them. The vote of people of color is also weakened because of the way electoral votes are unequally distributed in our country. There is lots of room for reform as we celebrate the 22nd holiday of Dr. M.L. King Jr.