meeting fate

I used to be a little jealous when teachers went to faculty meetings. I knew that everyone complained about them and that the teachers spoke of them in tired, resigned, and frustrated tones. But some part of me didn't like being shut out, didn't like knowing that information was being dispensed that I couldn't access. They seemed so mysterious. From the student perspective, I never saw teachers together. They were always isolated in their classrooms, their main interactions were with us. Occasionally I saw two or maybe three in a small cluster, but rarely more than that. But for faculty meetings, they would all gather in a single room and lock the door. Then, a while later, they would all come spilling out, and teachers you had no idea knew each other by sight would come out laughing together. All of a sudden the faculty was a cohesive body, separate from us. I certainly didn't want to come early those mornings and sit through boring meetings that not even teachers liked, but I still was a little jealous.

No more. Four hours of faculty meetings this morning, four hours of meetings yesterday, four or more the day before, and another six or so the day before that. I have been stuffed full of miscellaneous information and it's leaking out of my mouth, my ears, and when my eyes water I lose the evacuation route for my room and the new tax exempt code for the school credit cards. I am now "in the know." great.