School without students

This year is finally over. It somehow felt both endless and as if it was flying by.

Spent a couple of days in school doing so-called in-service. For anyone who's curious, and who wouldn't be, this involves a combination of planned activities like large group meetings, small group meetings, writing report cards, and cleaning up. Kind of like summer camp, just without the fun.

I don't really mind most of this stuff, aside from the large meetings, but I find it kind of depressing being around a school with no kids here. On the occasion that a student pops in to drop off a book or something, it brightens my day.

Without breaking any of the major teacher secrets, here's what goes on during our in-service. On the first day, we arrive at school around 8 and are provided with enough coffee and sweet breakfast pastries to keep a 3 year-old awake and running in circles for several months. Then we go into the largest classroom to sit still and meet for abut 3 hours straight.

What do we talk about? Well, I'm genuinely trying to remember but I can't. Kudos for something to someone. Thanks for years of service. More comfortable places to sit somewhere. I don't know! I have a mental block with meetings.

At one point I was recruited to take notes, and did what was probably the worst job ever because I lack the span of either attention or interest (or both) to follow a whole discussion where 10 or more people participate about any topic, worthy or not, that doesn't directly involve me. And since part of my general code of behavior requires me to avoid involvement in everything other than my own business, that describes the vast majority or meeting topics.

I can't say that I'm proud of myself for behaving this way, but I'm not ashamed of myself either.

I think part of the discussion was how to make students like the school more. It makes me think of an old interview with the writer Fran Lebowitz, where she was asked if she thought we should be making school more entertaining. No, she replied, what we should be doing is making it more educational.