August 25, 2004

How dry I am

It's the second full week and things have remained exciting on several levels. As far as the computer system and supplies are concerned it's the usual SNAFU. The 9th grade class is mostly out in portables. As we suspected might happen, they moved the class out back without installing the lab tables or supplies we asked for. The lab tables are backordered and the county office waited until recently to order most of the requested supplies. Those poor science teachers out there have to do labs with no water, few microscopes, and inadequate electrical outlets. I feel a little guilty that I kept my room in the main building, but am thankful I have supplies and water. We did four cell labs this week and my feet almost gave out. Today the air conditioning went out from 12 AM until around 2 PM. Teaching can be rewarding but these little frustrations can sap your strength and enthusiasm over time. The heat doesn't help my rosacea either. I arrive home today very tired and pink. If that isn't enough, my throat is sore. Either I need a break soon or I need to find an extremely wealthy family who is looking to adopt a slightly older (49) kid.

I'm beginning to see a major difference between my regular and honors level Biology classes. The regular classes seem to appreciate the labs and activities much more than the honors class. Most of the honors kids have been so spoiled by their parents they just walk through the labs with a bored, indifferent attitude. The more you try to inspire many of these honors kids, the more they shut down mentally. In contrast, the regular level kids were really excited by what they were doing in the labs. Several of them told me how 'cool' the Elodea cell's appearance was today when we added salt water causing plasmolysis. That is the kind of excitement I would like to see more of with my honors level kids. It's sad how some of them just roll their eyes and smirk when you are putting all of your energy into teaching them. They have no appreciation of your efforts or of the fascination that science offers. Their parents have spent so many years telling them how special they are, these kids have the "me, me, me" syndrome.

As you can see it's very hard to remain a calm, aloof instructor if you care about teaching. Energy levels drop, the body collapses, and problems like rosacea appear. I don't have the stamina I did when I started teaching. Lately the rosacea flushing has gradually increased as my health has deteriorated. I almost didn't make it up the flight of stairs yesterday when I was carrying four gallon jugs of water for the triops aquarium. Spider veins have appeared on my sides and the skin dryness is so bad now that my skin seems to soak up any moisturizers I put on it. Along with the basic flushing I've developed styes in both eyes this week. From my reading I've found that styes are a common problem with rosacea. The eye pain and grittiness is driving me crazy. Other than that, I'm doing great! It reminds me of Lloyd Bridges in the "Airplane 2" movie when he said, "It looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue." Sometimes you just have to laugh.

Posted by Ken Albin on August 25, 2004 07:17 PM

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