The copy machine.
There aren’t many pieces of equipment within a school building that can evoke such strong emotional responses from teachers.
The high that you feel when a) it’s available and b) it works flawlessly are hard to match. The lows that come with a line, a paper jam, or — and this might be the worst — walking into the copy room to find every access door open and not a living soul in sight? Well, those lows are hard to match as well.
Today was a mixed bag of feelings. I volunteered to make copies for another teacher, which made me feel good — yay! I walked into the copy room to find a “Replace the Waste Toner Container” notification — ugh. I walked across the school to find the other copy machine looking like it was working — yay!
I put my paper in the tray, dropped my masters in the feeder, and pressed “play,” only to experience highs and lows all at the same time. It worked, yes, but I’d forgotten how slow that machine worked.
Yay — Ugh — Yay — Ugh — Yay
I’ve got to be fair: I ended with a yay because it only jammed once. That’s a win. A slow win, but a win!
Yet There is Method 