Going to Conferences

As a teacher, one of the things I hate the most is going to a conference. For one thing, I hate being away from my kids. (This is how I refer to my students.) All I do all day long is think of all the things I could be accomplishing if I was back at school teaching my kids. I watch the clock and think, "Oh, right now I'd be in the middle of first block math," or "Now I'd be walking the kids to exploratries."

Besides that, there is the hassle of making sub plans. This takes a long time to put together, first of all. Second, it's always busy work, because you can't expect even the best subs to teach a lesson and not end up doing it over again after you get back. So instead you give them something to keep them busy, so they won't give the substitute a hard time. Then, after you get back, you have all the correcting to do, the follow up on misbehaving kids, the room to clean up, etc.

All in all, I would much rather be at school. It makes my life easier and, besides, I rarely get much out of the conferences, anyway.