It looks like the Halloween season is starting early this year

[MauEvig]

Oh, Andy, I thought you were kind of permanently settled near your siblings. Will you be very far from them? What is your new place like? Will they let you decorate as you choose?

Mau, my husband is snowed under with paperwork for IEPs. Most special ed teachers have fewer than 20 students, some fewer than 10. But of course everyone wants their kid labeled "gifted," so he has more like 120. It is exhausting.

I believe it. Working directly under a special ed teacher myself, I've seen what they go through all the time. And when she was out for surgery they wouldn't let her work from home so she fell behind.

I think that's why I'm leaning more toward being a Gen Ed teacher. But, I can at least be symphonic toward what Sped teachers have to endure each year, and show appreciate for any aides that come in the classroom. As a curtesy, I always try to make sure teachers get a chance to use the bathroom and such. It's less of an issue at the high school, teachers can go between bells if they need to just like the students do. But elementary teachers are stuck with their brood all day, even at lunch time. No breaks for them except maybe a brief period for planning when they go to specials. And of course, if we're short staffed or there's an IEP meeting, guess who gets the joy of watching the class? To be fair, it wouldn't be so bad if I had a heads up and it wasn't last minute. I like to plan things ahead. I feel like...and I hope there'll be less "surprises" when I get my own classroom and we can maintain a schedule.

One of the double standards that drives me up the wall were things like attendance recovery. Attendance recovery allows students to make up for missed days if they have too many absences. Apparently as an aide, I'm not allowed to be alone with the kids by myself so when I volunteered I was stuck in a loud, noisy cafeteria that really set off some of my sensory issues. Cafeterias are fine if you're just eating food, but it's not the best spot for doing school work IMO. I got distracted very easily in there. And it's all because a licensed teacher had to be in there with me while we helped the students. Meanwhile, during the day I could be watching a class by myself and acting as a substitute for the duration literally at the last minute. So...I can be with a group of students by myself during the day, but not after school during attendance recovery? Apparently this came down from administration and it really got under my nerves. Needless to say, I will NOT be volunteering to do it next year unless I get my license.

But don't get me wrong. I enjoy doing what I do. I enjoy helping the kids, I especially love getting those "aha!" moments especially after a student struggled with a subject and now they're getting it. I enjoy being there for them and talking to them and listening to them. Working in a school environment has been far more enjoyable than any other jobs I've ever had, and far less stressful over all.

I just think a lot of my issue with education is how administration deals the work to teachers, aides and other staff.

I think in your husbands case, maybe parents just want their kids to seem special? While every child is valid and we should celebrate their gifts and their differences, a child isn't less just because they might not qualify as gifted. They might have other talents. Plus a lot of times "gifted" comes with a hefty price of being twice exceptional.

But on the other hand, you have kids who struggle really bad who don't qualify. I have one student in particular and I'm quite fond of them, but they just don't seem to try. Now, personally I think they have ADHD, but I'm not a therapist and I'm not qualified to make such a diagnosis. They don't have the most stable home life either. But because they aren't putting forth the effort and they didn't qualify for services, they were dropped out of the program. They were in it at the beginning, but they lost their eligibility. It's sad, you really REALLY want to help them succeed. But as they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink!

...And on another note and something a bit more related to the original topic...has anyone seen any Halloween or even just fall stuff out yet? I haven't. Just back to school stuff. Which...annoys me because I don't want to go back yet. But on the other hand I've seen some cool Sonic stuff like back packs so that gets me excited. I mean, even seeing the fall floral arrangements gets me excited at Dollar Tree. Because that's often the first sign that the fall stuff is about to creep out.

Also am I the only person who thinks it doesn't make sense for the Thanksgiving stuff to come out before the Halloween stuff? I get Thanksgiving in Canada comes first, but we're in the US. I could see that being a thing in Canada, but that seems to happen here in the states too. I can understand general fall harvest stuff, but stuff with turkeys and stuff that says "give thanks" I feel like should come out after Halloween.

But I guess it gets overshadowed by a certain greedy old man in red...

[Murfreesboro]

That SPED teacher you helped probably wasn't allowed to work from home during her illness because the paperwork has to be kept under lock and key. My husband regularly puts in 60 and 70 hour weeks, sometimes more, because he cannot legally bring anything home.

A couple of pages back I did mention seeing a handful of things at Kroger and Walmart. I haven't been shopping much, and everything here is overwhelmingly back-to-school.

[MauEvig]

That SPED teacher you helped probably wasn't allowed to work from home during her illness because the paperwork has to be kept under lock and key. My husband regularly puts in 60 and 70 hour weeks, sometimes more, because he cannot legally bring anything home.

A couple of pages back I did mention seeing a handful of things at Kroger and Walmart. I haven't been shopping much, and everything here is overwhelmingly back-to-school.

From a confidentiality standpoint, that makes sense. I hadn't even thought of that. She had to come back much sooner than expected and was a complete wreck for...pretty much the rest of the year as she scrambled to get everything done. I could feel the stress, and it stressed me out too. I just hope I helped and did the best I could given the circumstances.

I'm sure those summer vacays are pretty welcome with a 60 to 70 hour work week.

I didn't see anything at our Walmart yet. They still have quite a bit of summer stuff out though.

Usually Dollar Tree is the first place to get anything Halloween related. Walmart tends to lag in that department.

I haven't been to Kroger's in a while though. They usually have good holiday stuff. And ground bison...which I would argue makes some of the best burgers, along with fresh ground steak burgers.

Welp, here I go again talking about food!

Do you have any good advice for teachers to alleviate the stress brought on to Sped teachers and aides? I already plan to treat aides with curtesy and kindness and make sure they get the respect they deserve.

[Murfreesboro]

My husband is in the room right now, so I asked him for advice. He said the main thing is to stay ahead of the scheduling. If an IEP meeting has to be held by Oct 25, he sends out his notices on Aug 25, and has the meeting on Sept 25. Legally he must notify parents three times, but he does it four times. He documents everything fastidiously. Then he holds the meeting whether or not the parent shows. If the parent protests and says, "I want a meeting!" He says, "Of course you may have a meeting! Let's do it!" But the official paperwork is in.

IEPs are governed by federal law. Legally, you can go to prison for slipping up. That's where the stress comes in, and that's why keeping ahead of the scheduling matters so much.

[MauEvig]

It seems really courteous to give them a month's head's up. I'd want to make sure I'd not only write it down in the calendar, but set myself a reminder in my phone as well.
Those IEPs are definitely important. Even Gen Ed teachers have to keep up and make sure students who have those and 504s get the accommodations they need. I'll make sure I keep on those to the best of my ability and that the students get the accommodations they need. When I make my lesson plans, that'll be one of the first things I keep in mind. It might help to keep a check list of students who have them and refer back to the IEPs in case I miss anything.
Like if a student needs an assignment chunked, I'll make sure they get it chunked. If a student has a read aloud, I'll make sure they get that read aloud and hopefully in the quietest, safest place possible.
And yeah...parents. Don't even get me started.

[Andybev01]

That sounds like an ideal set up for you!

When I'm all moved in I will post some pix, of course.

This one is of the balcony, I can't wait to see the leaves change the fall!

4th floor, end, corner unit.

[MauEvig]

Congrats on the new apartment, Andy. I hope they give you more decorative freedom than the HOA did at your current place.
That does look like a nice tree. I'd like to see it in the fall and spring too, and perhaps a nice wintery snowfall for Christmas...that is if you get snow anyway. Please post seasonal pictures if you can!

[Murfreesboro]

Looks like you have a corner balcony! Really nice view! Yes, share seasonal photos as you can.

Will you be able to do any gardening on that balcony?

[MauEvig]

You can always get A Garden Patch growbox. They seem to work pretty well.
And they have a lot of really nifty ways to grow things now, like stackable pots or those things you put on a wall and you can have multiple plants hanging off them.
If you want pumpkins you'll probably need a good sized raised bed, and I'm not sure how much space the balcony has.

[Andybev01]

There is a community garden that I can participate in if I feel so inclined.

[Andybev01]

is if you get snow anyway. Please post seasonal pictures if you can!

We got snow but we also get frequent ice storms.

This past winter it was of historic proportions.

Major widespread tree damage, power lines down for weeks...pretty scary.

The Christmas lights in the photo are not buried in 3" of snow, they're encased in ice that continually melted and refroze and were augmented by frequent layers of new, frozen fog and sleet.

[Andybev01]

Here is my car. Frozen shut.

Zoom in on the bottom of the doors.

[Murfreesboro]

And here I thought the South got all the ice storms!

[MauEvig]

Oh cool, I like the idea of the community garden!

Ouch! Ice storms can be dangerous and scary. I don't think they're limited to the south, I still remember when I was little we had a bad one in New York. They closed school, but we couldn't go outside to play. I barely remember it, but I think there were tree branches down, maybe power lines. My memory is a bit fuzzy.

Weather has definitely been crazy. We barely get snow here, but on the occasion that we do school always seems to close unless it doesn't touch the ground. Up north they have to have at least a few feet before they close. I still remember how aggravating it was waiting for a snowday that didn't come, but when we did have one it was a huge celebration for me!

Yeah on the surface the decorations look nice, but that's a scary prospect that that entire layer of white is nothing but ice! Yikes! Frozen fog, sleet? Sounds like the setting of a horror movie. "The Shining" perhaps?

[Murfreesboro]

In Kroger tonight I saw Reeses pumpkins, both white and dark, and ghost Kit Kats.

I have also seen Brachs candy corn and pumpkins at CVS. I am tempted to buy the candy pumpkins, since they sell out by fall, and some recipes call for them.

I also saw pumpkin chai k-cups for sale. And it's still July!