Still nearly new after all these years

I can't help feeling bad for new teachers. After all, they have no way of knowing what is coming their way. It's like being at the beach and everything is bright and sunny, when all of the sudden a huge wave comes sweeping up that sand and completely soaks everything, including all seven Harry Potter books that you happened to bring along with you just in case you have time. Sure, you think you're ready, you've been watching the tide bring the ocean closer and closer, but when the moment finally arrives, you're toast. All you can do is hang your sopping wet, sandy towel over a railing to dry and try to get comfortable even though the sand has also crept into every imaginable crevice.

I can't help feeling bad for new teachers, and I can't believe I am one of them yet again. Sure, I'm with the same school system, moving from Brentwood to Petworth (two DC neighborhoods), but it's a new (much larger), new (much cooler) principal, new (?) coworkers, new (!) curriculum, and a new (much smaller) classroom.

Even still, I was pretty excited about it all. I have ignored the info I keep hearing about my new class being "difficult" and now whenever someone brings it up, all I hear is a faint buzzing, much like a mosquito. I have arranged and rearranged my room to accommodate 26 desks while still meeting the fire code. I have worked with my excellent fifth grade coworkers at other schools to disassemble the curriculum document into something that makes sense. All of this served to make it seem like the water was only at chin height rather than eyebrow.

Then, they "rolled out" the new schedule. Instead of the 2 hours of daily planning time that we were promised, we have 45 minutes. With the extended school day, that means we will be with our little darlings almost non-stop from 8 am to 430 pm. So much for absence makes the heart grow fonder. A small part of me feels like I am whining, that some teachers don't even get that much planning time, etc, etc, but the larger part of me says that just because some people have it worse does not make our situation right. Last year we had 45 minutes of planning time, but the children left at 330, so staying until 5, which I usually did, meant at least an extra hour to plan once the kiddies were gone. Now, I won't even have the next day's pencils sharpened by 5. Argh. All of this makes me feel just as new as before, with no higher ground where I can relocate in order to keep my metaphorical towel from getting soaked. Bring on the tidal wave.