This year, I have an amazing schedule. I provide a small amount of library and media prep but the majority of my time is devoted to "collaborative structured ICT partnering". What that means in layman's terms is that when the grade 1-8 classes go up to the computer lab, I accompany them and their home room teacher; we co-teach the lesson and that way, everyone learns from everyone else. I also have an entire day of open collaborative library partner time - fantastic, right?
The problem is that no one has signed up for my open partner time.
I can attribute this to several potential causes. It could be because everyone has structured time already built into their timetables so they may not feel the need to book more spots. It could be a lack of time for the classroom teachers to find and plan a unit with me. It may also be due to last year's less-than-ideal schedule, where I only had something like two periods available for partnering (which couldn't be retooled to best fit others' timetables, because last year I was 1/2 library [all prep] and 1/2 junior & intermediate literacy & numeracy SERT); if you're not used to having partner time available, why seek it out this year?
I feel terribly guilty about all this "free time" I have. I'd rather be teaching. I can't even assuage my conscience by bar coding books or shelving, because I have two amazing adult volunteers that have that all under control. I don't want to lose my open partner time because it isn't being used, but I do want it to be used. I'll keep offering those times (I noticed last week when I offered it as "free extra prep time for writing report cards" that I became the most popular person in the school) and hope things pick up. Any other suggestions?
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