When school ended in late
June, the entire middle school had to be cleared out and relocated to the old
high school for a year during remodeling.
I had heard horror stories about things being lost during a prior move,
regardless of how well they were packed and/or marked. I decided to take home all of the important
files I had been carrying around, all six-foot-high pile of it.
My fears were not
unfounded as I have already spent six hours in my new room, picking up after
the movers’ mess and trying to locate my missing materials. In the meantime, though, I still have that
pile of folders to sort through. In the
folders I find old curriculum I probably will never teach again, doubles of
other things, and just a general pile of paper kaflooey.
So, I go through the file
folders and their contents … and start purging.
A few hours later, I’ve filled an empty Hammermill paper case box with
crap I’m (hopfully) never going to need again.
I manage to waddle the boxful into the kitchen, and I start pooling the newly-discarded
paperwork with the few scraps I have already collected for next Tuesday’s
recycling.
It takes three bags. Three.
Bags. Full.
Tonight I am the Black
Sheep of Curriculum Sorter-Filers, and I like it. I definitely feel lighter and more organized
after the bags are filled and set next to the door to go out with the following
recycle cycle.
When school starts in
September, the entire middle school may still be in post-move mayhem, but my
file cabinet will look kick-ass amongst the chaos.
