September Goal: write the rest of the semester's curriculum for the new class.

After a month back at school, I have about a month and a half of a curriculum. I’m having a really, really hard time caring, and I kind of want all my students for that class to magically disappear. (Actually, not quite true – just a dozen of them or so.)

I’ve tried this before with my monthly goals, and I’m discovering that if it’s not something I genuinely want to do, I’m pretty much not going to succeed at it. Good to know, going forward.

I get to change my September goal, because I got a bomb dropped on me a few days ago. Apparently, I’m going to be teaching TWO sections of music appreciation this year – one to 6th graders, one to 7th graders. Now, if the kids in the 7th grade class were all students I’d never had before, I could just teach the same curriculum for both classes.

BUT NO. I have half the same kids that I had in 6th grade music appreciation last year. So I get to write a brand-new curriculum (because of course the school doesn’t give me textbooks or a curriculum guide or even much technology to work with, since that would be too easy). School starts in JUST OVER A WEEK.

What makes me angriest is that nobody even told me this was happening – I found out because I got a sneak peek at my rosters for the upcoming semester and I saw this new class in there. WHAT. THE. HELL.

I was really looking forward to this year being easier than last year, but it looks like I get to teach while staying just one step ahead of my students, at least for the first semester. I HATE beta-testing a whole new curriculum as I’m writing it, because every single day makes me feel like I’m pulling myself up a cliff by my fingernails.

I have quite a few ideas, and I’m poking some of my music teacher friends for any curriculum they’ve used. I just wish that someone had let me know about this, oh I don’t know, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER when I would have had time to work on it.

I’m angry, I’m stressed, and I’m starting to tweak out on this to the point where it’s making my stomach hurt. Not amused.

I found a farmer’s market in Long Beach that’s actually open when I have time to go! Most of them are during the daytime on weekdays, and when you leave the house at 6:30a and get home at 6:30p on weekdays…well, that doesn’t really work out.

So every Saturday afternoon, I shall write my meal plan and grocery list. Anything I can’t get at the farmer’s market gets picked up from the grocery store Saturday evening (‘cause I kinda hate crowds). Then on Sunday, between morning mass and evening mass, I shall head to the farmer’s market.

I can do this, dammit.