Going from the sublime to the mundane and back again

I got a haircut today. Nothing unusual except my hairdresser, Cristina, who happens to be from Italy and married to a Puerto Rican, was so happy to see me and commented on how well I looked. She said she noticed it as I stepped out of the car. She said I looked real well. Several days ago, I had someone else comment on the same thing. That time is was Marcia, an excellent math teacher, at Discovery. She said I looked well rested. I have only two things, I can attribute it to. First of all, I am no longer a slave. I was living like a slave. I worked hard at school, went home to correct papers and to write lesson plans, and fall asleep exhausted. There was no end to it. Now,I feel so liberated and happy. I am starting to pursue my hobbies and I must be more relaxed about it! I have deadlines to meet at work but they seem reasonable, compared to all the demands of teaching. I get to see and talk to kids while I do lunch duty and some have learned my name. It is cute, so Ha, I got the cake and get to eat it, too.

It is really unfortunate, when I think of all the demands they put on teachers... it is no wonder then that many teachers do not last more than five years at the job. Don't get me started on the demands, parent teacher conferences, some times with hostile belligerent parents, administrators that sometimes do not back the teachers, though that seldom was my case, but I have had bad experiences and I have heard stories. When you are new or not the most popular you often get varied curriculi to teach thus multiple lesson plans are required,and finally,(so I thought) the paper work which is huge, and specialized lesson plans for particular students, ex. ANI, IEP, etc., continued education, and extracurricular activities you are expected to attend. All this for a 30 something salary. People are not in it for the money, but frankly, it was a load before, now it's a burden.

So, what do I think? Will I go back to teaching? Well, never say never. I do like the idea of teaching adults. I also would like to go back and study Art. Maybe I could teach Art. Wow the thought of it. I would be doing what I love and not have to be overburdened with reading and correcting. It seems exciting... No wonder I am looking better...