Too Over the Top?

I teach with a very organized lady. I'm reminded of when I first started teaching at the age of 25. I was taken under the wing of another teacher who was the age of my mom, and she was very organized. It was good for me. I learned how to be organized. But I inspired her with ideas. So we worked well together. I'd come up with "Why don't we..." ideas, and she'd organize them. Now, I'm in the same type of teaching situation. I have the vast years of experience and ideas now to draw from, and my teammate, who is my age but has only been teaching for five years, is totally organized. We benefit from each others' strengths.

But Mrs. Organized Teacher needs to relax. That's the effect I had hoped to have on her this year. My hope was that she'd learn to go with the flow a little bit. Here are some examples of being a little too organized:

*It was the first day for the 5th grade to take the state test. When I got to school and headed to my classroom, I saw that Mrs. Intervention Specialist was talking with Mrs. Organized Teacher in her room. I walked in.

It was a heated discussion about the schedule of the day. Mrs. Intervention Specialist was handing out the school-wide testing schedule for the day, and Mrs. Organized Teacher was very upset with it. The Powers That Be had decided that, since some kids would be testing with different teachers other than their homeroom teacher, depending on their learning needs, everyone should take breaks at the same time. During those break times, teachers were to email updates from their respective rooms, giving an update as to how many kids were finished, how many were still testing, etc.

Well, Mrs. Organized Teacher was very unhappy to not be in control of her break time. "But the Teacher's Testing Manual says the students should have a break after 45 minutes of testing-not an hour! My kids can't go for an hour straight without a break..." Mrs. Intervention Specialist was trying, I could tell, to remain calm. Was Mrs. Organized Teacher overreacting? Yes, I beleive she was. I caught Mrs. Intervention Specialist's eye, and said, "Could you come in to my room when you are finished here?"

I went into my room. Soon, Mrs. Intervention Specialist came in..."Oh My F*%#ing God," she exclaimed.

"Did you see her schedule on the board?" I asked. "She practically has written down when the kids should breathe..."

*On the last full day of school, I had planned a fun day. We were going to start the day with a movie. I always show "Akeelah and the Bee." It's a good inspirational movie. Then, I had made plans for a pizza party and had been collecting money from the kids to help pay for it. Finally, we were to have Field Day in the afternoon. I figured if I had any extra time, I'd fill it by showing Meerkat Manor episodes.

That morning, Mrs. Organized Teacher came into my room. "What will you do today if you have any extra time?" she asked. I told her I was just going to show Meerkat Manor episodes, and asked her if she wanted to borrow any DVDs (I have the first three seasons). She said no, that she would do this thing or maybe the other...Then she asked me again what I was doing that day. I told her we'd start with the movie, then have the pizza party, and then Field Day in the afternoon.

"How will you get your lunch," she asked. I said I was going to eat pizza with the kids. "But how will you get your half hour break with all that?" she continued. "Unless you maybe had your lunch delivered later...Let's see. I know! You could ask Ms. Lunch Lady to deliver your lunch at 12:25, after the 30 minute recess. Then you could get your break, then have lunch, and then do Field Day. Or, wait a minute...How about if you..."

At this point I just laughed and patted her shoulder, before she had a coronary attack. "Mrs. Organized Teacher," I said, "It will all work out. We will just go with the flow. I don't want you in a panic as you try to plan my day..."

*On the last day of school, Mrs. Organized Teacher was worried (once again) about having too much down time. After our end of the year assembly, we still would have about 1.5 hours to fill. She was worried. She talked to me after school the day before, saying she thought that she'd take her class out to play kickball for about 45 minutes after the assembly. That seemed like a good idea, so I suggested we take both classes out. She liked that idea, but of course, questions arose. Do we play my class against her class? Do we mix the kids?

We decided that since they'd be mixed in 6th grade, we should mix them up now. I said, since my students had numbers, that I'd split my class in half. Oddly enough, her class wasn't numbered (you mean I was more organized??), but she'd also get them split into two groups.

Then came the morning of the last day. She had it all organized, of course. She'd sent out the emails to staff letting all know that we'd be using the back baseball diamond for our game. She had gone to the pe teacher for cones and balls. She's set.

Mrs. Organized Teacher came into my room in the morning. "OK," she said. "So, do you want to put the kids into Group One and Group Two, or we could do Group A and Group B, or may Blue Group and White Group?"

I just had to laugh.