I had to drive about 20 minutes between two schools. I did this three days a week and the other days I worked at the high school middle school. By the end of that school year, I must have driven every road between those two towns. It was farmland and countryside. I could drive with the windows open and daydream. It was enjoyable to have that alone time when I traveled between the schools. The scenery was also wonderful. My commute to the schools involved a 30 minutes’ drive from my house to the high school-middle school. This is where I started and ended each day. I may have also been a pioneer for the first Uber or Lyft service; I had the perfect car for transport, it was a large four door Chevrolet Caprice. I drove three other teachers to and from school each day and they paid me. There was a high school English teacher nearing retirement, another high school teacher in her 40s, and a Physical Education teacher in his 30s. It was a wonderful opportunity to discuss school each day. I got feedback from them about the issues that they had and I could discuss concerns of mine. It gave me a better perspective about what I was doing and how to provide good services. I developed a relationship with these teachers.
When I look back on those teachers, I really did appreciate the conversations and support. As a Speech Pathologist in 2020, I rarely left my room (closet, bathroom lobby, or boys changing room) and I was more likely to take lunch at the computer so I could finish reports, data, and attendance ed nauseum. Carpools were not common. During the day I might briefly chat with another teacher usually about necessary documentation or I might see them in the hallway and say hello. Currently in schools, there is so little time to talk with other teachers. Staff is busy filing reports, copying practice exams, looking at student scores. I am unsure of how this helps student progress or staff morale.