Tuesday, September 9, 2008

I'm doing WHAT???

"Teacher," one of my students said to me as I was walking out to the parking lot to meet my carpool.  "Teacher, do we have a meeting today?" 
    "A meeting?"  I stopped.  It was 1:30, the end of my day on Tuesdays, and I couldn't think of any meetings I had been told about.  Which didn't mean much.
    "You're our asesora.  Are we meeting today?"
     By now I was surrounded by several eager faces, all looking at me expectantly.  
     "I'm your .... what?" I tried to smile back at them, but I had a bad feelings about this asesora business.  
     "You're our asesora. Do you want to meet with us today?" They looked like they wouldn't mind a free period,  I thought, and besides, I had no idea what an asesora's job was or why I was supposed to be one.
    "I'm going to need to get some more information," I said, "So no, we won't meet today."  
     My students didn't look too unhappy to have more free time, and as I met up with my mentor/carpool buddy Delfina, I sputtered the story out.  She just smiled.
   "I always try to get out of being an asesora.  The kids pick you, and they ask you, but I always say I'm too busy." 
    "What does an assesora do?"  I asked. 
    She launched into a description that began with the always-infamous "They just..."   By the time she told me about the parade I would be helping organize next Tuesday on Independence day (a non-work day) I wasn't so sure the honor of being selected by the class was quite worth it.  Organize part of a parade?  Keep track of 37 student's grades and behaviors in their 6 classes in the two 50 minute periods I have free during my teaching week?  Be a counselor to them without neglecting my other 175 students?  Help them file complaints against other teachers, if need be?  Meet with the group once a week during my off hours?  Hmmmm....... 
     (to be continued)  

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Yowza... looks like once again, no good deed goes unpunished, eh? Good thing you have some time-management skills!