Lesson Plans

"My goal is to do two lesson plans a day, every day on Christmas,Saturdays, and Sundays. I have 540 lesson plans to do this year. If I do two every day, I should finish by the end of May."

Tyler, the former corporate executive has been on the job for about three weeks. He's exhausted. He's working 10-11 hours a day and for a Triple A personality he says he's trying to get used to the fact that " every day that there is something more to do that I can’t get to."

Not only is Tyler doing lesson plans with a vengeance, he's using PowerPoint to teach his Geometry classes.

Being that I haven't been in a geometry class since 1967, I asked if most teachers now used Power Points.

"Let's put it this way, I brought in my own computer and LCD screen to do this," explained Tyler.

Tyler also has a web site where parents can check assignments and grades.  And, with more than 20 days under his belt, he has  graded and returned every test and quiz the very next day.

It's been two weeks since my daughter Berit took her first Calculus test and she's still waiting for her teacher to grade the test.He's been teaching math for many years.

Each of Tyler's  540 lesson plans  is time-consuming. "Today I did two lessons plans in about two hours," said Tyler, " But the more complex ones can take up to two hours."

Changing the subject I asked how the food was.

"It's okay but I don't have time to go to the lunch room. It takes me 10 minutes to get to the cafeteria and then if I start talking to someone that's another 15-20 minutes. I just don't have the time,"

Tyler, who has figured out how to get inside the building prior to 6:00 AM wants to leave school by 4:00 pm. His schedule doesn't include the 15 minute lunch break.

Tyler is a very disciplined guy. For those teachers who are smiling to themselves thinking give him a few months and he'll slow down, don't count on it.

If Tyler says he's going to do 2 lesson plans a day, every day until May, he will do it.

I couldn't help but ask if he had any regrets about his decision. In true Tyler style he said,

"I never look back.I never pine for a different way. Never. Never. Never."

NOTE: Tyler is not the teacher's real name. It's been changed to protect his job. Throughout the year I'll be checking in with Tyler on the transition from corporate executive to math teacher. Coming soon: isolationism, being a union member and saying good-bye to the "f" bomb.