The Inservice

Instead of teaching today I have to go to the high school and sit through "chalk talk" sessions, grade level get togethers, and professional development planning committees. I'm not a fan of these inservice days. I hate to say this, but there's a lot of time wasting that goes on at teacher inservices. We get into small groups of people we don't know and discuss questions like, "What's the best way to get kids interested in reading?" Then we use post-its, and make charts. Then we stand in front of the whole group and talk about our charts. Then we go home and never see the charts again. Life goes on, and we try to bury our bitterness at the humiliations we've endured throughout the day. I'm trying to develop a good attitude about what I'm about to experience, attempting to move away from "I'm having a flipping nervous breakdown" mode to "I'm totally inside myself and unaware of my surroundings" mode. I'll let you know how it works out.