I have re-entered the ninth circle of bureaucratic hell. Actually, I may have descended to the tenth circle at this point; I can't even talk to a live person face-to-face about my issues because the people in charge are all hiding behind the anonymity of their position and communicating with me strictly through e-mail, despite my attempts engage them in face-to-face or telephonic communications.
Last year, my status in the country was the cause of my hellish ordeal through the U of A's bureaucracy; having been told I had to apply for citizenship instead of getting an international study permit led me through a circular maze of meetings and phone calls that eventually got settled. And I actually talked to the necessary people face-to-face, which was nice.
This year, it's my loan. More specifically, it's the change in my status that has caused extra problems with my loan. See, I'm still an American citizen. I got a loan from the US government last year to pay for school. All was hunky dory. This year, because I am also a Canadian citizen, it's a little more complicated. The university has a (ridiculous, IMO) policy requiring all students with Canadian citizenship who require loans or other financial aid to apply for them through the Canadian government before they can apply for loans from other governments. In other words, I have to apply for a Canadian loan before they will consider me for an American loan. I am not sure if this is strictly the University's policy or if it's part of the US loan program. Inquiries seeking clarification on that point have gone unanswered. Suffice it to say, I have jumped through the necessary hoops to get things going for my loan and if there's a problem further down the road because of all the extra crap I've had to fill out and send in, there will be blood. Not all of it mine.
On a completely different and happier note, I have a job! Yes, ladies and gents, I went out a got me a job working for an out of school care program at one of the local elementary schools. I almost had a job at Chapters, which is like Barnes and Noble, but wanting to take a week off to go home to Cali for Christmas was a deal-breaker there. I'm okay with it.
Today was my first "official" day of work, after going in last week for a couple of orientation days that were kind of silly because the summer program is totally different than the school-time program. Anyway, not only was today my first day of work, it was also the students' first day of school. (Side note: Hey, America? Specifically the districts like MV that start mid-August? Why don't we go to the end of June and start after Labor day like we used to? Hmm? What is the logic behind forcing kids into the classroom in the middle of the hottest month in CA? We could just go two more weeks in June, then start two weeks later AFTER Labor day. Whaddaya say? Think about it?)
I worked a split shift today, fours hours-ish total: 7-9 a.m. and 11:15-1 p.m. Morning and lunch. I have already observed some differences between the elementary schools here and back home; those differences and others stood out to me today as I worked.
The first thing I noticed about ALL the schools here in Edmonton is they are not fenced in. Think about the schools in MV. Every single one has a fence around it, and during the school day the only point of entry (usually) is through the front office once classes have started. The schools do not have fences around them. Perhaps a football field or a section of the parking lot may have a chain link section of fencing at some part of the perimeter, but it looks to be the kind of fencing that is designed to keep sports equipment from escaping.
Another difference that I found odd, but kind of neat, was the fact that the kids usually go home for lunch (which is at the same time for everyone). Yeah, they walk home (or parents walk them home) for lunch, then return for the rest of the school day before lunch is over. The kids who can't go home because they are in out of school care, or whose parents aren't home during the lunch hour, either stay in the very small cafeteria or come to our program. We have a kitchen and lunch area as part of our rooms. This makes it possible for the kids to bring food items that would not normally be found in your average school lunch (brought from home). We have cold storage in the fridge and microwaves for stuff that requires heating. Today I walked around and observed what the kids were eating for lunch. Some things that stood out to me as different:
-sushi
-heat up lasagna and fettuccine
-Campbell's sippin' soup
-pizza pockets
-some noodle/meat combo
-pizza Lunchable that the student assembled, then had us heat
-hamburger pockets
Not your mom's brown bag lunch.
I think the thing that stood out the most to me today was how small the school is. I'd never really paid attention to the dimensions of the school while driving around it to the parking lot. Today I had to follow the kindergartners to their room so I knew where it was to pick them up and walk them to the program room for lunch. Before the students went to their rooms, the whole school lined up outside our room. When I say the whole school, I mean every class was out there. It didn't take up that much space. From what I gathered today there is one class for each grade, and then two extra combo classes, a 3/4 split and a 5/6 split. So altogether there are only nine classes at the school. NINE.
It's not like Edmonton is a small city; it has about a million people, and the school I'm at is not in any way shape or form a rural school. It's right behind the mall, for crying out loud! I just wonder if Edmonton has way more elementary schools - I think I pass three or four on my way to work. I'm just used (having subbed all over MV at many different elementary schools) to there being three or four classes per grade, plus multiple A.M. and P.M Kindergartens.
Oh, and then there's the shoe switching. It has started to make sense, in a weird sort of way, but I still don't get why they're doing it NOW. Each student has to have two pairs of shoes for school: indoor shoes and outdoor shoes. They switch shoes each time they transition from class to recess and back again. I can understand this in the winter, what with the snow and all - I do the same thing for church with my boots and my cute strappy heels. I'm not sure why it's necessary now, but I'm not the teacher, just the assistant.
The last thing that weirded me out a little (okay, a lot) today was the parents. Granted, I have never been in an elementary school on the first day - no, wait, that's a lie. I did those horrific three days of fourth grade at Seneca a couple of years ago. But I seem to recall -oh! I just figured out what the fences are for! It's not to keep the kids in; it's to keep the parents out! Because in MV, parents don't hang out in their Kinder's or first grader's class all day. They kiss them goodbye at the gate and leave them to line up with their class. Today the parents of the kinders and grade ones were allowed, if they so desired, to stay for the day. Many of them did desire, and how the teachers put up with them with such equanimity, I will never know. I had a hard enough time keeping my temper in check when I walked with another program assistant to the kinders' room. The teachers were attempting to show the kids how to line up, come in, and change their shoes. As they were attempting to do this (which would have been difficult with only students present) they also had to compete with parents shoving their way in past students who weren't theirs and so did not merit attention or courtesy. This was usually accomplished with the aid of a behemoth stroller.
Imagine it: A scene of controlled chaos, with four different aged classes all lining up and coming in the same set of doors. The hallway is large enough to accommodate them walking or standing in line, but they are currently in the process of switching shoes which requires sitting on the floor or leaning against the wall. The teachers are trying to keep track of their students, make sure everyone knows where to put their shoes, and then get them lined up again to go in the classrooms. And in the middle of it all, parents. Parents with their cameras, parents with their strollers, parents who are focused solely on their child and do not seem to care about the fourth grader they just shoved aside to get the perfect picture angle. I was a touch annoyed by the end of it all.
There were some things that were more specific to working in the program vs. teaching, which I will probably post in a different entry. This one's a bit long.
No comments:
Post a Comment