Calling myself a slave would be a little dramatic and slightly politically incorrect, but I seriously feel like one sometimes. However, it’s probably a little bit of my own fault. I have a massive amount of responsibilities on me at work. Everyone always gushes over how great I am at my job, and it makes me feel good. Therefore, I end up doing pretty much anyone asks me to and then some.

Teaching second and third grade in Lexington was a living hell. When I started my computer lab job last school year, it was a totally new thing for me. I didn’t really know nothing about being a school technology coordinator or administering online assessments. Luckily, I’m good with computers and have always been good at figuring things out for myself. Apparently, I am like a million times better than the previous computer lab person which of course, makes me feel good. At the same time though, it sometimes puts pressure and stress on me.

Some teachers in my school feel that the special areas teachers (music, art, P.E., computer lab, and library) have too much planning time. The teachers get an hour of planning each day. I, on the other hand, have at least two most days and sometimes three. The teachers are only planning for one class though. I have to plan for six different grade levels. Not only that, I have to go around and play superwoman and solve everyone’s technology troubles and install this or that, and take photos of things, etc. I guess some of the teachers feel we have too much free time to sit around and do nothing though. We (the special area teachers) affectionately refer to ourselves as “slackers” because some people don’t think we have anything to do. Whatever.

A teacher sends a kid to the library with a dollar and asks the librarian to buy her a drink from the coke machine. People call me on the phone while I have a class and expect me to leave and come help them figure out why their VCR isn’t working. It’s ridiculous. My principal doesn’t know a thing about technology so I am left to make ALL of the technology decisions for our school. It’s a huge responsibility to decide who gets a new computer first or which classes get an extra computer. Apparently, no teacher or parent has ever complained about me personally though which is nice to know.

It’s been a super busy couple of weeks for me (that is, when we have actually been in school and not out for now), and I just needed to rant for a minute. I am overworked and underpaid like most people, and sometimes it just really frustrates me. Do any of you How many of you have a job that makes you feel like this?

Wow, I remembered my Twitter login information. Maybe I’ll start Twittering more often!