Back in the Saddle Again

To say that today was mixed would be gross understatement.

Today, I arrived at school ready to teach. But my room was not. The janitor was fumbling for keys at the door to my room when I got there. I went in and my mouth fell open. All my wall decorations were off the wall, there was a thick dust in the air and on every surface. My work tables were covered all sorts of things that belonged on the floor. And, there were paint splatters on every surface, including a big smear on the new counter tops (remember this was a brand new room in a brand new building). It was a mess.

The janitor told me that the room had been painted over the break. No one told me it would be painted and that doesn't explain why no one cleaned it up. So, the janitor vacuumed and I dusted and then wiped down every surface with disinfecting wipes. We moved all the stuff around. I couldn't believe how much dust was around. Evidently, they sanded before they painted.

And, to cap it all off, I ended up getting asthma from breathing in the dust. Delightful.

ARGH! I don't get how professional painters can not use drop clothes when they are painting and why think it's okay to leave a mess when they are done. I don't get why the contractor didn't inspect their work. I don't get why the janitors *who knew it was a mess* didn't clean it up.

We've been having trouble with the janitors and the leadership team at the school did a survey today of all the things wrong with the "cleaning" that was done over the break. Hopefully there will be ramifications. It's very frustrating.

But, otherwise, it was great to be back in the classroom, back with kids. I had a great, refreshed attitude. It was nice to see other teachers and staff. Without the filth and asthma, it would have been awesome!

Can't wait to get caught up on reading teaching blogs -- I pretty much gave myself a REAL vacation -- not work thoughts or anything like that. Relax and play! Awesome!