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Well, here goes. This is probably the most boring of all trip reports, I HAD TO GOOOOOOOOO!!!… I was so stressed out, by my job primarily, that I was starting to forget everyday things. 
You know, the pressure builds up sometimes, and even though your personal life is okay, the little things are getting on your nerves and you’re about to blow. This year, for the first time it’s my job.
I’ve been in a 12-year long war with my supervisor. I don’t care for her, and she hates me but has been warned that more harassment is going to lead to a lawsuit. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] Finally she’s found a way to get to me legally, kinda. At the end of the day on the Friday before school was to start in September, she called. She was smiling, (I could hear it in her voice, and a coworker who was in the room with her when she called later affirmed that she indeed was smiling) which told me something bad was about to happen. It did. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] After 17 years in the same classroom, she’s managed to have me move into another room for 2 of my 4 classes—and those 2 classes are with freshmen, whom I haven’t taught in over 8 years, and then in my usual room. Other people come in from around the department, new teachers, and teach in my room, or have study hall there. They’re moving anyway, so why can’t they move to the other room and let me stay put? In my department, only 2 others have more time on the job, one of who is this stupervisor (no error), and of 13 teachers, only the most recent 3 hires move from room to room. The rest stay put even if teaching more than one subject.
Let’s be clear about this. In 1998 our school underwent extensive renovations, and 2 modern science rooms were added. At that time the other chemistry teacher and myself with the architect and the school business manager actually decided on the conformation of these rooms and the prep room between them, including a chemical storage area. They were designed to be 2 state of the art chemistry rooms, with a/c no less, with the 2 of us teaching in tandem. On arrival in September, I found that one of the rooms had been changed somewhat and assigned to a teacher who wasn’t even tenured yet. No problem. I’d been in the old room for 6-7 years and had no difficulty giving up a new room. 6 other teachers hired since me have been assigned a single room to teach in. I however, move about like a nomad in the desert, pushing a cart with my preparations, books, and sundries about.
I have decided to just adapt. I will not be forced out of a job into retirement. I’ve decided to keep teaching until she retires first, or when I determine that I want to leave. However this leads to a problem. I HATE TEACHING FRESHMEN!!! I prefer the older chemistry student, and the course that I’m so familiar with and totally comfortable with. I have decided my own revenge. I will travel to Jamaica whenever I can, taking random days off and returning refreshed and tanned, so there will be no secret about what I was doing while I was AWOL. That decided, as soon as school started, I booked the November trip just completed, and in less than a week booked also for December into January. We had a 6-day weekend on the schedule, which included the NJ State Teacher’s Convention Nov. 6 & 7, and Veteran’s Day Holiday, Nov. 10 & 11. I blithely added Nov. 5 and Nov. 12 by calling out. Let her worry about where I am, taking time off before and after a holiday, something I haven’t done in 25 years of teaching. December will be the same, I return on Jan. 6, in the evening; but school resumes after the holiday on the 5th. I guess I’ll be back in school on the 7th, if I’m not bumped. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] I am already looking at prices for February 12-16 or thereabouts, and April 9-19 is a definite.
You know, the pressure builds up sometimes, and even though your personal life is okay, the little things are getting on your nerves and you’re about to blow. This year, for the first time it’s my job. I’ve been in a 12-year long war with my supervisor. I don’t care for her, and she hates me but has been warned that more harassment is going to lead to a lawsuit. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] Finally she’s found a way to get to me legally, kinda. At the end of the day on the Friday before school was to start in September, she called. She was smiling, (I could hear it in her voice, and a coworker who was in the room with her when she called later affirmed that she indeed was smiling) which told me something bad was about to happen. It did. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] After 17 years in the same classroom, she’s managed to have me move into another room for 2 of my 4 classes—and those 2 classes are with freshmen, whom I haven’t taught in over 8 years, and then in my usual room. Other people come in from around the department, new teachers, and teach in my room, or have study hall there. They’re moving anyway, so why can’t they move to the other room and let me stay put? In my department, only 2 others have more time on the job, one of who is this stupervisor (no error), and of 13 teachers, only the most recent 3 hires move from room to room. The rest stay put even if teaching more than one subject.
Let’s be clear about this. In 1998 our school underwent extensive renovations, and 2 modern science rooms were added. At that time the other chemistry teacher and myself with the architect and the school business manager actually decided on the conformation of these rooms and the prep room between them, including a chemical storage area. They were designed to be 2 state of the art chemistry rooms, with a/c no less, with the 2 of us teaching in tandem. On arrival in September, I found that one of the rooms had been changed somewhat and assigned to a teacher who wasn’t even tenured yet. No problem. I’d been in the old room for 6-7 years and had no difficulty giving up a new room. 6 other teachers hired since me have been assigned a single room to teach in. I however, move about like a nomad in the desert, pushing a cart with my preparations, books, and sundries about.
I have decided to just adapt. I will not be forced out of a job into retirement. I’ve decided to keep teaching until she retires first, or when I determine that I want to leave. However this leads to a problem. I HATE TEACHING FRESHMEN!!! I prefer the older chemistry student, and the course that I’m so familiar with and totally comfortable with. I have decided my own revenge. I will travel to Jamaica whenever I can, taking random days off and returning refreshed and tanned, so there will be no secret about what I was doing while I was AWOL. That decided, as soon as school started, I booked the November trip just completed, and in less than a week booked also for December into January. We had a 6-day weekend on the schedule, which included the NJ State Teacher’s Convention Nov. 6 & 7, and Veteran’s Day Holiday, Nov. 10 & 11. I blithely added Nov. 5 and Nov. 12 by calling out. Let her worry about where I am, taking time off before and after a holiday, something I haven’t done in 25 years of teaching. December will be the same, I return on Jan. 6, in the evening; but school resumes after the holiday on the 5th. I guess I’ll be back in school on the 7th, if I’m not bumped. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] I am already looking at prices for February 12-16 or thereabouts, and April 9-19 is a definite.
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