Making working work for us

Ever since Matt and I opened joint bank accounts a month after we got married (eight years ago next week!) we made a goal of saving money for an emergency fund as well as for a maternity leave fund. The idea was that I'd take one year off teaching after our first baby arrived and then I'd return to the classroom. Matt always said that even when I was "taking time off" from teaching I'd probably still be doing some kind of work (of course he thought that -- he's an eternal optimist). Being a pessimist, though, I always said let's plan as if I am not working at all during my year off.

But then I had a January baby. So a year off turned into 19 months off. And during that time I became a self-employed private tutor. Oh, and I also got pregnant, again, so I extended my maternity leave again, and 24 months after I temporarily left the classroom I had baby #2, the final installment. Because I was already heavily involved in my tutoring business while pregnant with baby #2, this time around I was responding to essays the night before I went into the hospital for my c-section, and I even did some work a few hours after delivery. Within four weeks I was back to working with my students.

Though this may or may not sound intense, depending on your vantage point, I have to say that I love my job and I love my work-life balance. My choice to leave the classroom temporarily and start my own business has had a monumental impact on our family life. It is an ideal situation for our little family. I know everyone's situation is different, but I share our pros and cons to add another voice to this ongoing work-life dialogue among modern parents.

I tutor middle and high school students in a variety of subject areas. I work between 20 and 28 hours a week depending on my current client list. I can work as many hours as I do because my husband is also a teacher, so his schedule mimics the schedules of the students I teach and therefore he can be home just in time for my work to begin. I work Saturday through Thursday, only pausing for breath on Fridays, which I've made into my official work-free day. During the summer I work four days a week, morning, afternoon and evening, which I can do because my husband is off work. We're able to then enjoy three-day weekends as a family in the summer months. My students come to my house for tutoring, and we did a slight renovation to our downstairs living room that has now officially transformed into an area solely used for my tutoring business.

This whole gig is rather perfect, and here's why:

Pros

I am working just the right amount -- If I was still in the classroom, to be the kind of teacher I'd want to be, I'd need to work long hours grading and planning. Something would have to give, as I wouldn't be able to devote myself to my job and still spend time with my kids, let alone my husband, relatives and friends. I couldn't, though, be happy not working at all. When I was on total maternity leave following Natalie's birth, neither teaching nor tutoring, I was not very happy. I needed an outlet, and we needed money, so this time around with Adam I was eager to get back to tutoring as fast as possible.

We do not pay for childcare -- Financially we are in a much better situation than I ever could have imagined while having two little kids. This is in large part due to the fact that the only childcare we pay for is when we hire a babysitter on a weekend night. Additionally, besides the money, we do not have to experience some of the anguish associated with finding and maintaining good, reliable childcare.

We have equal parenting -- Matt spends every afternoon and evening, Sunday through Thursday, with the kids. He spends every Saturday and Sunday morning with them, too. If you tallied all the time each of us spends with the children while they're awake, our hours would come out as being fairly equal. Yes, I still spend more hours with them, but I also work part-time, so it makes sense. Matt always does bath time. He almost always handles dinner. He reads to our kids just as much as I do. And, he makes our dinner between the time when the kids go to bed and the time when I stop working each night, which is crucial.

No commute -- In the Washington, D.C. area, this is also crucial.

I'm my own boss -- I never thought I would be self-employed. I am not a risk-taker, and being your own boss is inherently risky. But I'm really understanding that cliche idea so many self-employed people say about the joys of not having to answer to anyone else (except my clients).

There are, though, many drawbacks to this lifestyle. Here's what we've experienced:

Cons

We don't have much "down time" -- I'm not sure any set of parents with two small kids gets down time. If anyone does, though, we are certainly not in that group. Matt and I both have great jobs and great schedules, but we work opposite schedules. Some days when Matt's work schedule and my work schedule are particularly packed, I am literally handing the kids off as I begin working with a student. Part of being a parent, I think, is learning to get everything done in way less time. So, we've simply adjusted. (Side note: Our latest favorite show is "The Americans," and in a recent episode Keri Russell's character told her daughter that being an adult means doing things you don't want to do when you don't want to do them. I couldn't agree more.)

I have to work weekends -- I guess I could decide to scale back my tutoring business, but right now I'd rather not; therefore, I have to work weekends. I get Saturday afternoons and nights and some time on Sunday to spend with family and friends, but I've missed out on many baby/wedding showers, picnics, parties, and other events because of my schedule. Unless I have major advance notice on an event or I get a last-minute cancellation from a student, I have to RSVP "no" more often than I'd like. To protect my professional reputation I try to keep my work schedule as consistent as possible, only taking time off for illness or special occasions.

Our home needs to be clean -- This really a pro-con. My clients come in through our front door and stay on our entry-level floor. I don't want them to see a mess or dirt. This isn't, thankfully, that hard to do because that level only get used for my business, but it's definitely something I spend time each day straightening so as to keep a good appearance.

Sometimes working from home is more stressful than having an office to retreat to -- Matt is fantastic at keeping the kids entertained, fed and clothed while I'm working, but there are inevitably times when someone's having a tantrum or someone's fallen down and screams, and I can hear it downstairs. As a mother I feel that pain of knowing something's wrong but I can't do anything about it, or I feel annoyed that I'm just generally hearing noise while I'm working.

Ultimately, the cons are heavily outweighed by the pros, and for now this is our life. It's a good life as I can't imagine a better situation for our family. No situation is perfect and everyone figures out what works for them. Fortunately, we've found something that works for us.

Leave of absence

No, I'm not leaving this blog, but yesterday I did make an official decision: I won't be teaching next year.

Long before becoming pregnant (really, really long before, like when we were getting married in August 2006) Matt and I discussed how awesome it would be to save money so I could take a full year off work when we had a baby.

Then, instead of having a baby in April like I would have "planned," I had a January baby, bringing up the question of whether or not I should simply take off January to August and then return for the following school year, putting Natalie in full-time daycare.

Right now the thought of daycare freaks me out.

And on a teacher's salary a lot of my income would go toward paying for daycare.

And we have the money saved for me to take the year off.

And Natalie will only be a baby once.

It's the last point that I kept coming back to. Friends would ask, rightly so, "What will you do for baby #2? Do you want to take a year off now?" But chalk this up my "enjoy it while I can" philosophy. I don't know what the future holds. I don't know if I'll be able to have another baby. All I know is that I have a baby now and I need to embrace this time in our lives.

So now, this weight lifted off our collective shoulders, we're all smiles.

Where I've Been: Mountains (of) papers

Two things can explain my absence for the past week:

1) actual mountains
2) mountains made out of papers

Let's start with the fun one first.

Last weekend I took the second trip of my life to Utah. The first trip involved driving cross-country in the summer of 2008 with Matt and hitting many major national parks, including Arches National Park in Moab, Utah, perhaps my most favorite national park. This time I returned to Utah to venture into Park City/Deer Valley for our friend Craig's wedding weekend extravaganza at the Stein Eriksen Lodge, which is exactly as beautiful as the pictures on its website make it out to be. I've never been to a true ski resort before, so this was a special treat, even in the off-season (or, maybe more aptly put for someone like me, especially in the off-season). The suites are ridiculous (the jacuzzi on the deck being a nice touch), the spa is pretty incredible, and the views are about as awesome as you can imagine in your mind.

Here's some hotel porn for your viewing pleasure...

Ain't nothing wrong with a dressing room in a bathroom, that's all I have to say.

Weather cooperated for most of the weekend, and we managed to even get in some outdoor activity. In response to the question, "Hey Stephanie, was that you hiking a Black Diamond at 8,000 feet elevation two hours after your plane landed in Salt Lake City while you were 25 weeks pregnant?" my answer would have to be, "Heck yes!" I deserve a medal. If nothing else, Matt has promised me a T-shirt. I also need to give credit to my friend Megan, who trudged along with me at a literal snail's pace for the last horrible stretch of terrain and without whom I probably would not have made it up the mountain (thanks, Meg!). Diminished pregnancy lung capacity + incredible elevation for a sea-level dweller + led legs = stopping every 10 seconds for the last 200 feet for air.

The wedding itself was of course beautiful. How could it not be, given the perfect surroundings? You might notice in the shot below that I'm wearing a shawl that seems to perfectly match my dress. I didn't bring this shawl myself. Instead, the award for "Best Wedding Favor of All Time" goes to Craig's new bride Annie, who decided to hand out to all the ladies in attendance shawls in a wide array of colors to match virtually everyone's outfits. What a clever idea, especially given the fact that most men do not care about wedding favors in the slightest, and the mid-60s mountain air called for a little something around the shoulders. If you use this idea in your upcoming wedding, give Annie a shout out.

Now, on to the less fun stuff, and here's where the organization part (or lack thereof, as the case may be) kicks in. School in my county always starts on a Tuesday, the day after Labor Day. This means that this year we were back with kids on Sept. 6. With this being the third week of school, it's truly in full swing and the work is starting to pile up already. Try as I might to stay ahead, I inevitably slip behind. I know that if I do a little grading each day I can keep my head above water, as I touted back in January, but sometimes it's just not that easy. It especially didn't help that after taking last Friday off for the wedding I came back to a fresh pile of papers my great substitute collected on my behalf.

Here's my system as it stands now:
1) Collect all the papers from a single class into one folder.

2) Give myself a goal date -- within usually a week, sometimes slightly more -- by which I would like to hand all papers back and empty that folder.

3) Get started grading a few as quickly as possible after collecting the work. (This is where I tend to fall off the wagon. It's those first few that take the longest and are the hardest to motivate myself to begin.)

4) Immediately take the papers I've graded and place them in the outbox for that class, thereby freeing myself of the burden of paper and simultaneously feeling some small ounce of accomplishment.

5) Squeeze in a paper here and there to grade during lunch, in between classes, while students are working silently for five minutes in class...whatever works. Realize, though, that ultimately I work best at grading papers when I can give myself a sustained stretch of about two hours of uninterrupted scribbling.

6) Stay late at least one day, such as today, in order to finish off a stack of papers and finally check something off my list. Get to know the night crew custodians. Even with all this, wind up not meeting all my goal dates for returning papers and accept the fact that perhaps I am setting myself up for failure with unrealistic goals.

7) Prepare to collect more papers, you know, the next day. Sigh.

I know this is part of the job of being an English teacher, and I know I chose this career, so I'm not trying to say, "Woe is me." Instead, I'm wondering what insights other teachers can provide. I especially know that once Baby Awesome-rod arrives and I go back to teaching, whenever that may be, I am not going to be able to stay late, nor am I going to want to devote much of my evenings/weekends to the paper load. So, right now I consider myself in training before I go on maternity leave to try out some new systems as a trial run. I cannot let papers control my life once I have a baby to raise (and play with!).

So, fellow teachers  -- because I know there are a lot of you out there -- what do you do to keep your head above water?


And to those of you non-teachers out there, what task in your line of work is similar to grading papers, and how do you manage those seemingly un-manageable tasks? I am certain you have some strategies that could apply to my situation.

I would LOVE to hear your advice!

To my students

Today marked an end of an era: my last day as a journalism teacher. Tomorrow marks another end of an era as my beloved senior class of 2011 graduates from high school.

Although I can be pretty good at hiding it at times, I am a sappy sentimentalist. So, as a school year and a chapter of my professional career comes to a close, it's impossible for me not to reflect.

I started teaching journalism five years ago in the fall of 2006. From the beginning I loved being back in a newsroom setting, guiding students in what I believe is an important life skill, a crucial community service and arguably the single most important high school co-curricular activity. I have not lost my zeal for teaching journalism or working with my amazing students.

But last summer and into the fall I realized I wanted my after-school life back. And I wanted change. And I wanted to go out on top -- and I think that I did. This was the best year for journalism at my school in recent history. Just as I firmly believe a sitcom should end while it's still funny and a wedding should end right when a bunch of people still want to keep dancing, I feel you should make professional changes when you're still enthusiastic about the job. It's scary to replace my reliable and fun(ny) journalism students with two new classes of students I've never met, but I look forward to the chance to experience some professional growth and to cheer on my kids from the sidelines as they produce what will no doubt be incredible work under the guidance of a new, enthusiastic and talented teacher.

Each year I offer my graduating seniors some parting words of advice, most of which have to do with making the most of college because those are the most amazing four years of your life and you need to soak up every opportunity. But I didn't leave my underclassmen with advice today on our last day together. So, I'll leave them with this:

1) Do your research. Remember that when you write your articles or produce your broadcasts you need to be an expert on your subject. If you don't know your subject it will show. When you write an editorial, there is such a thing as a good opinion and a bad opinion. A bad opinion is an uninformed opinion, so don't be that guy.

2) Be nice but be firm. At interviews, ask the tough questions. When working with each other enforce deadlines. Hold each other to high standards. There's a time to be a friend and a time to be a leader; you can be both but you will have to learn to balance those roles.

3) Be nice to your new adviser. It is difficult to walk into this job. Few people in the world know what it's like to take on this job. Don't make her regret it :)

4) For the love of journalism, clean up after yourself! Put your trash away. Push in your chairs. Put your laptops away NEATLY. (That's the last time you'll hear that from me!)

5) Make Stax proud and win a Pacemaker.

I am grateful to my students for the fun times they've given me. Although it's a ton of work, I've never disliked a moment working with these students. They also have been really generous at the end of this year, writing me a surprise goodbye message in the senior issue of the newspaper, giving me beautiful bouquets of flowers and several gift cards to some of my favorite places (including a certificate to The Container Store with an attached note telling me to stay literally organized...and I will blog about what I do with the certificate when I use it down the road). They have also left me with some of the nicest comments and notes I've received in eight years of teaching. These are all tucked away in my file of feel-good teacher notes, possessions I will always cherish and pull out in November when things aren't looking so hot.

After eight years of teaching, it's easy to identify those stellar students. I have found them, and I can give them no greater compliment than this: If Matt and I are fortunate enough to have children of our own one day, I hope they will be like one of my journalism students.

And in the spirit of my journalism students' obsession with Twitter, #loveyouguys, #staxout.

Tip 67: Slow and steady

All in all, I really like my job. But the worst thing about being an English teacher is grading essays (coming in at a close second: writing college letters of recommendation). Every year I try to come up with a way to make the task more manageable. So far, the best solution I have for this conundrum applies to many other areas of life as well...

Tip 67: When faced with a seemingly monumental task, try tackling a little every day for a week. If you set unrealistic expectations for yourself, you'll wind up feeling disappointed.

Right before my students left for winter break, I collected 72 3-page essays. Each essay takes me between 10 and 20 minutes to grade -- the worse the essay, the longer it takes. If you do the math, you'll realize that by assigning this work to my students and grading it thoroughly, I lose a solid 18 hours off my life. With only one and a half hours each work day devoted to planning rather than teaching, it's clear that this task isn't getting done in a timely fashion during the work day.

So, over winter break, I sucked it up and graded 26 of the essays (while also writing a couple college recommendations, creating the English teacher's double-whammy). I did between 5 and 10 per day for a few days. Between Monday and Tuesday this week I got another 18 done, and today at work I got through another stack. I'm down to 12 essays, or three more hours of work. Between tonight and tomorrow during the day I want to finish this work.

A true sign of accomplishment: Today I can fit all my remaining essays to be graded inside my fabulous new bag. Victory!

The point of all this is, in the past I've found myself staring dumbfounded at a seemingly endless pile of essays. But today I've moved beyond that attitude. Now I simply tell myself to do a little work each day. It really does make it much less painful.

Apparently there are some English teachers out there who can grade any essay in under five minutes. I've never actually met such a person, and if I did I'd have to question how thoroughly she critiques her students' work. To me, this is one task where there aren't many shortcuts, but at least I have a coping mechanism.

We're not in Kansas anymore

Literally. We have left Kansas (City, Missouri), and we are back in the good ole VA.

After four nights and four days, we managed to bring 29 journalism students and three teachers half way across the country, safe and sound. This officially makes this my most successful overnight field trip with students.

On top of this, I think my kids actually had fun. I actually had fun. Yes, we took them to the College Basketball Experience at the Sprint Center and ice skating at the Crown Center and we ate BBQ dinner at Gates and Mexican at Los Corrals, but I think they had legitimate fun through the journalism activities during the trip too. They traveled to Kansas City, but city and activities aside, it's there that they really bonded with each other, fulfilling Dorothy's mantra "there's no place like home."

And while most teachers might find their students' gift of a magnet reading "If I only had a brain" mildly offensive, this teacher appreciates the fact that her students tied her souvenir into her Halloween costume. Thanks, guys!

How many plastic sheet protectors can a girl use?

The answer? A heck of a lot!

I know you must think that after I got my amazing label maker that I ascended to label-maker heaven, which explains why I would have been a little more quiet these days. But, as any teacher would know, I have been a little more quiet lately because I have been super swamped, anxiously anticipating the arrival of a fresh crop of students. Well, they arrived today, and about five minutes ago I finished a mondo organizational project that I've been meaning to complete since the last day of school.

That's right, I renewed my vows with plastic sheet protectors.

Now, I know what you might be thinking: plastic sheet protectors = bad for the environment. You're probably right. But when it comes to my teaching materials, I lean toward lamination and plastic rather than making new copies of everything I need year after year. There is no perfect system, but this is about as close as I can get.

And it makes me so happy, in my nerdy, organization-obsessed kind of way.

OK, so here's exactly what I did:

1) Last year, each time I left my classroom to make copies of my materials for my students, I kept a giant file folder for each of my classes. I labeled this folder "Originals" followed by the class name. I made sure the "Originals" stayed in the exact order in which I had distributed them to students. See, I had a plan...

2) I gathered up some free, giant three-ring binders I'd corralled from various sources.

3) I bought two 200-pack non-glare sheet protectors from Office Depot. These retail for about $14.50 in the store (more expensive online), but because I signed up my credit card through a link provided by our school's finance officer, I'm able to get school-system prices for all my Office Depot purchases. This means my $14.50 each sheet protectors came in at a whopping $4.44 each. This, my friends, is my teacher bonus (and you know how much I love teacher discounts!).


4) I tried to consolidate all my physical materials for each of my classes into two binders per class. One binder simply contains my "Originals" in more user-friendly, plastic-sheet-protected format. This is a great way for me -- a totally visual organizer -- to see exactly what I did each day last year, which is totally useful as I figure out this year. I added dividers for each of the four grading periods to remind myself of when I roughly covered each topic, skill or activity.

The second binder per class I've labeled "Supplemental Materials." This is where the plastic sheet protectors really did wonders. See, as an English and journalism teacher, every week I come across several items I gather and file away as "Stuff I Might Use Sometime." OK, that's not a real file name...it's more like that-pile-in-the-corner-of-my-office-that-has-good-stuff-but-I'm-not-quite-sure-what's-in-there. So, this "Supplemental Resources" notebook contains articles, supplemental activities I've made but had to cut out some years, examples of good student work to use as models for new students...you get the idea. This notebook is also divided into the four grading quarters of the school year, with a short table of contents for each quarter so I can quickly glance at my extra materials if I'm looking for ideas.

Obviously, I have electronic files of everything I've ever made as a teacher, and I have a good system for labeling all those electronic files. But, when faced with the daunting challenge of organizing 180 days of teaching three different types of higher-level classes, flipping through my plastic-sheet-ridden notebooks will surely make my life easier.
  
In fact, I would say this could down right revolutionize my teaching experience.

Tip 65: Naming electronic files

OMG people. I am loving my label maker. I went a little label-maker happy yesterday in my classroom, but it was much needed. I will explain more soon. In the meantime, speaking of labeling....If you have trouble naming your electronic files, you might consider this...

Tip 65: If you have files that you need to keep arranged methodically, name your files so they begin with a number (for example, 1--English syllabus, 2--First assignment).

Below you can see what part of my Beginning of the Year English folder looks like from my computer.

As a teacher, this system works great for me because I am constantly updating my files every year, making little changes, but often not reinventing the wheel. So, as I start off this school year, I can see the order in which I handed out materials last year. While the materials themselves might change over time, the skills I am building do not change, so I cannot, for example, teach my students how to read a passage closely before I teach them some basic literally devices. My literary devices file might be number 10 and my close reading instructions number 11.

Of course, you have to make computer file folders your friend. So, I have a folder on my computer for every unit I teach, and within that unit I number my files so I can keep track of what I should be teaching when.

And, like all my tips, this one can definitely be modified for the world outside teaching. Teaching just especially lends itself to this sort of organizational practice because we start fresh every September and need to look back on the previous year's work.

How do you organize your computer files?

Tip 64: Electronic lists

What is the hardest part of doing any job? If you said starting, this tip might be for you...

Tip 64: Keeping electronic to-do lists on file is a great way to help you feel focused and less overwhelmed when faced with seemingly daunting tasks. Most importantly, it keeps you from reinventing the wheel.

Today's tip is inspired by the start of the school year, as any teacher might guess. Every year we have to do what seems like 10,000 small and large tasks before the students walk in the doors. The longer I do this job, the better I get at estimating what I need to do and when, but this year I'm in the best spot I've ever been thanks to some smart work I did early last year. A year ago as I was preparing my classroom and my curriculum, I made a Word document of every little task I did. The 10 minutes of extra time it took me to translate all my hand-written lists into one simple file was definitely worth it. When I walked into school yesterday I printed out my to-do list and got to work.

 Confession: Sometimes when I get super busy I forget to eat lunch, so yes, I actually sometimes have to remind myself.

What are some of the things I have to do every year? I won't overwhelm you, but here's a quick peak:

• Set up technology cart (VCR, DVD, LCD projector, speaker, computer)
• Hang posters
• Gather and organize office supplies
• Get parking pass
• Renew my membership in scholastic journalism organizations
• Revise syllabus for four different classes
• Request IT team to grant my journalism students access to shared server space
• Make photocopies of all papers for first week
• Set up class websites
• Set up electronic gradebook

And that's just the beginning. Take the list above, multiply it by 6, and that's the work I need to accomplish the week before students arrive, in between hours of meetings that take up a decent chunk of the week.

This list has kept me sane. It has kept me from staring at a wall, or hitting my head on a desk, or hiding behind a pile of boxes, afraid to start.

My friend and colleague Cara likes to say that one of the things she loves about teaching is that it's different every year. Different students, different class schedule, sometimes different subjects, and a changing group of colleagues every year. I agree. But, at the same time, this means that every first week back is almost like going through new employee orientation every year. It can be a lot. The one constant? My list!

This organizational strategy can be easily adapted: electronic holiday card lists; electronic back-to-school supply lists; electronic packing lists for college students heading back to campus; electronic shopping lists with weekly menus.

How do you prepare to tackle complex organizational tasks?

Teachers: Stay tuned this week as I share some more teacher-friendly organizational strategies (that can also be adapted for other purposes as well!).

This just in: The Container Store teacher discount!

This one comes to us from my lovely husband, who read an email from his principal about this new program and immediately thought of me, forwarding it along my way.

You know that I love me some teacher discounts, and just tonight I found out about the 15% off The Container Store is offering teachers until December 31. To sign up, follow this link, and then you'll receive an email containing your special discount card. You'll print this card and present it along with your teacher ID when making a purchase. The card can be used as often as you'd like, and it's accepted for purchases made in store, online or over the phone.

Right now my head might explode thanks to this combination of teacher discounts and organizational heaven.

Teacher discounts

One joy of being a teacher -- besides the satisfaction you can get from shaping the country's future -- is teacher discounts. Some discounts are clearly advertised at stores; others you have to check for carefully on the company's website or, more likely, hear through word of mouth.

Here are some of my favorite teacher discounts:

Books -- Borders and Barnes and Noble both offer teachers discounts. There is a form you have to fill out the first time you take advantage of the discount, and you're expected to show your school ID each time you use the discount. Borders grants a 25% teacher discount, and Barnes and Noble offers 20% off for teachers.

Clothes -- There are a few places I shop that offer teachers clothing discounts:

• Ann Taylor Loft offers 15% off everything, including sale items. Granted, anytime I go in to spend money at Loft, I have at least a 20% off coupon, or Loft is having a 40% off sale on dresses, or they have a Buy One, Get One 50% off promotion, but sometimes coupons they offer only apply to full-price merchandise. So, the 15% off everything teacher discount is especially great for sale items. There is no sign-up process involved; just carry your school ID.

• JCrew offers 15% off everything, but it supposedly cannot be used for phone/internet purchases. I don't know as much about this discount because I've only used it once or twice because....well, you know, JCrew is still pretty ridiculously expensive, even when it's 15% off. Also, JCrew does not have anything officially posted on their site (that I can find, anyway). The discount is valid at factory stores, though, so that's a nice bonus, especially given the fact that there's a JCrew outlet in the Outer Banks we like to hit up.

• Aerosoles offers 15% off items priced $39.99 and higher. I used to think Aerosoles were ugly, orthopedic shoes, but there are a few cute items there, and two of my favorite pairs of shoes come from this store. So, while I'm not flocking to Aerosoles, it's nice to know I can get a discount if I want one.

Office supplies -- Our school system has a contract with Office Depot, and because of this Office Depot offers teachers the ability to link our personal credit cards to the discount program and get the same prices the school system receives. This is a tremendous discount. While I do not buy too many school supplies for my classroom use, I do buy some, and I also buy some supplies for Matt and me to use at home for other projects, like my recipe notebook (plastic binder sheets are expensive!). Let me tell you -- the discount is amazing. The Office Depot clerk will ring up my purchase and it will show up for $15, and then once the system processes my credit card the price will drop to around $4. I love to watch this happen. If only there was a way to make this happen at all stores, all the time...

Of course there are local discounts teachers in different school systems receive for housing or gym memberships (we get a small discount at Gold's Gym). And I am sure there are some that I'm missing.

So, to all the teachers in the house, where do you use your teacher discount the most? Please share so we can all make the most of our discounts this summer!

Stick a fork in me

...I'm done!

Today was the last day of school for the students, and this year it also coincides with the last day of school for teachers, thanks to all the snow we had this winter.

I also made it out of work in record-breaking time this year. Kids left at 9:30, I left at 11:30, and I attribute this to, of course, being organized, but more importantly, not having to move classrooms next year.

Today marked the end of year seven of teaching. It was a lucky year, if I do say so. I had some pretty amazing students, many of whom I am fortunate to teach again next year. Also, it seemed appropriate that I spent a good portion of today throwing out papers and other random odds and ends that I no longer need. I managed to fill seven trash cans/bags. Seven loads of trash for seven years? Sounds about right.

As for summer work, I won't be doing much, but I did bring home three green bins with papers and notebooks. I have big organizational plans for these this summer, so stay tuned.

For now, though, I will go enjoy this most wonderful time of the year (last day of school through July 4 is always blissful). And Matt and I will do some celebratory shopping at DSW and Target.

Grammar snobbery: 2 tips

I read alot of blogs (j/k...a lot) as well as a lot of high school students' papers, and I've developed my fair share of grammar pet peeves. One that I bet you never mess up is the correct spelling of the word "grammar." Every September, when my freshmen English students are setting up their notebooks and I instruct them to make a divider in their binders for grammar, I write the correct spelling on the whiteboard. Every year I have at least two students per class who still label their section "Grammer."

Now, I realize we're all human, and I make plenty of grammar/spelling mistakes myself, but there are a few that I notice all the time that are fairly basic, and I thought I'd give out my first teacher tip, free of charge. Consider this at-home tutoring, round 1.

Found here

Grammar pet peeve #1: Its vs. it's

This is one I try desperately to teach all my students each year, and I may succeed in conveying this information to about 2/3 to 3/4 of them in reality.

Here are the basic rules:

• Its = the possessive form of "it" (*I realize the problem here. This rule is counter intuitive, as it goes against the traditional possessive rule.)
• It's = the abbreviated form of "it is"
• A good rule of thumb: Ask yourself, "Am I trying to say 'it is'?" To find out, replace the "it's" in your sentence with "it is." If it still makes sense, it's right! (See what I did there?) If it does not make sense, no apostrophe.

CORRECT = The dog chased its tail. (The tail belongs to the dog.)
CORRECT = It's Thursday and we are going to watch Top Chef Masters on our DVR. (It is Thursday.)

Grammar pet peeve #2: Everyday vs. every day

This is the one I correct most often on signs when I'm out shopping. And by correct, I mean I shake my first and say a little prayer for that sign-maker's English teacher, who is no doubt rolling in her grave somewhere. I've never actually taken out a Sharpie to correct anything because 1) that's a little crazy and 2) even if I were driven to this extreme, I know someone who got a citation for this, and that alone is crazy.

Here are the basic rules:

• Everyday = An adjective that means ordinary, normal, routine.
• Every day = Each day.
• A good rule of thumb: Ask yourself, "Am I trying to say 'each day'?" To find out, replace the "every day" with "each day." If it still makes sense, use "every day." If it does not make sense, say "everyday."

CORRECT = Juliet is so forgetful when she shops that she has to go to Walmart every day.
CORRECT = Juliet prefers Walmart to all other stores because it offers everyday low prices. When she shops there, she wears her everyday jean skirt.

So as not to overwhelm you, I'll end here, but get prepared for some lesser-known grammar rules down the road.