In The Teacher Workroom, Everybody Can Hear You Scream At The Copier

Newmentia has seen fit to bestow a new plan time upon Mrs. Hillbilly Mom this year. Instead of 2nd Hour, which, believe me, nobody was clamoring for...I now have 4th Hour plan.

The problem with 4th Hour plan is that it falls during the lunch shifts. The only good part is that now I don't have to deal with TWO classes who have just come from their lunch playtime, but only one. The bad part is that some teachers take their lunch to the teacher workroom. Home of both Kyoceras.

Oh, it's not like they put their plates on the copiers and pull up their chairs. Nor do they make S'Mores when the copiers overheat. But that room is small, and I don't like sharing space with yappers when I am trying to remember how many of what I need copied. Besides, I can't sit down at the table and organize my piles of worksheets for my unit. And neither the lunchers nor I want me to have to refill the paper. Because that means my butt is in their faces while they are trying to chow down in 20 minutes. However...the really worst part of this deal is that when I jam the copier, everybody knows who did it. Which means I have to rip open assorted compartments and reach up in that Kyocera like an animal husbandryman inseminating a heifer.

I have taken to making most of my copies after school. I tried running a few on my actual plan time on Monday, but that only annoyed me. I went in right after first lunch shift, having eaten in the cafeteria like a normal teacher. Nobody was in the teacher workroom. It was the four-minute lull between lunch shifts. I put a set of 6 eight-sided copies on the Kyocera that can staple. Then I put a set of 100 one-sided copies on the Kyocera that folds every fourth paper and jams when you try to make it staple. Best of both worlds. For each copier, a separate but equal job.

Then the lunch bell rang to start second lunch shift. Mrs. Not-A-Cook waltzed in and looked at the Kyocera running my 100 one-siders. About 75 were done, but there's not a counter you can see unless you mess with the control panel. Mrs. Not-A-Cook grabbed my original out of the copier.

"Whose is this?"

"Mine. When they're done, I can let you use that machine."

"Oh. Never mind. I'll do it later."

"Well...it IS my plan time..."

Let the record show that Mrs. Not-A-Cook has 6th Hour plan. I prefer not to give up the copier on my plan time because someone is ill-prepared and wants to stop my job from running while they dash off to eat.

Is that so wrong?