PROFESSIONAL POLYGAMY

I am sure you are wondering what the title of this blog means!  I am a very lucky woman.  I have a real-life husband who is awesome, but I am fortunate enough to have two work husbands who are both amazing men. 

I will start with Dave, (since we have been together the longest).  Dave is an incredible work partner.  He reminds me so much of my real-life husband, with his laid-back personality and agreeable disposition.  We have been working together for over 5 years now and I think I have taken his Modern Media class 25 plus times.  As a special education collaborative teacher, many times you are looked at as a teacher’s assistant, you are just there and the students do not really see you as a teacher.  That is not the case with Dave, he has always treated me as if I belong and we are a team.  He makes sure to always tell the students that Modern Media is “our” class and I have never felt that I was not fully a CO-TEACHER and he lets both students and parents know from Day 1 that I am just as invested in the class as he is. 

I have been in classes previously where the teacher did not even introduce me to the class, he would have class discussions where the students would sit in a circle and I was not included.  He NEVER spoke to me, never let me work with students and basically I stood by the heater in the room for an entire year, watching him teach.  He was bizarre anyway; thank God he is no longer at Hazelwood West.  That was one of my first years teaching and I have learned a lot since then, I would never let that happen now, but luckily, I don’t have to worry about that.

 I digressed, sorry….Back to Dave.  I love listening to all of Dave’s what I call “Daveisms”.  My absolute favorites are:

1.       “ My trip”--he says that when he makes a mistake (Usually someone would say “I’m  trippin, not Dave).

2.       I will give you 15 minutes to finish up, you know about the time it takes you to get Chinese food, 15 minud.  (OK typing this is not as funny, because you have to imagine him saying 15 minud with a Chinese accent).

3.       Any kid that has to go to the bathroom, he asks them if they have diarrhea.  No explanation necessary for that one.

4.       If a student gets a pass from the counselor, he gives that to them and says “looks like you need counseling” or “we could all use some help from time to time”

5.       “Don’t be tardy tomorrow, you will be REtardy”. (I never claimed this would be a politically correct blog).

6.        “Don’t copy from anyone else; they may be dumber than you”.  You always get one or two students who look at you like “REALLY?”.

7.       “Did you watch Glee last night?”

8.       “Did you see that they have ___________on sale this week at Aldi.”  I swear I think Dave must have stock in Aldi.  He is a walking/talking advertisement for the store.  Really, if anyone from Aldi Headquarters happens to read this blog, you really should consider giving Dave a cut of the profits……..

These are just a few of my favorite.  I wish I could remember the countless jokes Dave says, and so many times, I can finish his sentences.  We are just very in-tune with one another.  I learn a lot and I don’t know what I will do when he decides to retire.  I know I am going to do my best to keep him there as long as I can.  I truly love being in the classroom with him.  I am so impressed with his relationship with the students.  He is truly a role model for them, he never gets upset or stressed.  No wonder so many students come back to see him after they graduate.  Ask just about any kid that has graduated from West and they will tell you that Modern Media was their favorite class and Dave was their favorite teacher. 

He has always accepted me and the special ed students with open arms and has been so understanding of some of the demands that I have from day to day.  The countless phone calls and meetings, or special ed related problems that happen during our class.  He has NEVER complained when I have to miss a class or take care of something.  He has been so supportive and just so damned fun to be around, all of the qualities that you need in a work spouse.  What a great job I have, that I love going into work, mainly because of the people I work closely with. 

Now let me tell you about my second work husband, Chris.   I could say we are newly-work-weds in a way.    This is our first year teaching Journalism 1 together and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE teaching with him.  The class make-up is so different from Modern Media.  In Media, the students do individual projects and you tend to work with them one-on-one.  In J-1 there is lecture and activities and I am actually doing much more traditional teaching.   I have to say, I was a little intimidated because I was not familiar with the content material and I have never had training in Journalism before, but I walked into the room the first day and I was hooked.

Chris is a phenomenal teacher, much like Dave, but his teaching style is VERY different.  Where Dave is laid back, Chris is anything but….Chris is incredibly high energy and you can’t help but wonder what he is going to come up with next.  We work well together and he is very open to what I have to say.  We may not always agree about things, but we are able to compromise and come to a consensus about what we are going to do for the class.  What is most gratifying is that I think what we are doing is working for students.  I am so proud of our class, I am so pleased by how the students are actually learning the material, while they are having fun.  We have come up with so many new things for this class this year and it is truly collaborative teaching at it’s best.  

Now to dish on Chris……he has turned out to be one of my very best friends.  I have to say that I love teaching more this year, because of him and the experiences I have had in his class.  I feel like I am back on top of my game as a teacher.  I have a lot of fun with him and I can give him a ton of crap and he gives it right back.  I think we have very similar philosophies about teaching, family, special education, and building positive relationships with our students.   He has a passion for teaching and learning and wants to be the best he can be.  He is always willing to try new approaches, or incorporate things into the lesson that I suggest.  I feel like I am 100% his partner in the classroom. 

I like that I can walk into his classroom and tell him ”Are you out of your f#@%ing mind?, or my personal favorite, “shut the f@#k up and just listen to me”  and he doesn’t take it personally. (I don’t EVER talk this way in front of students—INTENTIONALLY).   He has a way of making me feel more confident in myself as a teacher and he is able to read me very well.  I think he and I make a great team and it is exciting to be able to walk in the class every day and love being there.  I also am also confident that the sky is the limit in our class.  We will try new things and create an environment where students WANT to be.  I am looking forward to improving as a team and rocking J-1 for years to come.

I am so freaking lucky to work with these men.  I just can’t sing their praises enough.  I have been so fortunate to call Rooms 231 and 232 my home at West.  Thank you guys for being the greatest work-husbands in the world!