Monday

Sometimes I'm not really sure what to say about my day.  How about I survived?  That's always good right?  I didn't change the world, or solve global hunger problems, but keeping 150 kids safe for 7 hours is pretty noteworthy.

Some days I feel like I'm doing it alone.  Two of our administrators have cancer.  One just had surgery and will be out another 6 weeks and the other just announced he's starting chemo soon.  The only remaining Vice Principal isn't really good at communicating so it's hard to feel like you are holding on to the end of a limb and aren't sure if someone will be cutting off support when you need it most.  I'm just really glad I'm not a new teacher in this situation.  I've got a lot of tricks in my bag to try if something isn't working for me.  And I also realize that I'm only a small part of the entire puzzle and no matter what I do, not every student will be successful this year.  I've had enough students grow up and come back after several years and let me know they just weren't ready to learn.  They needed some life experiences to show them that education really is important.

One student in particular was really difficult in my class.  He is now a manager at Safeway.  Every time I go through his check out line he apologizes for not paying attention and giving me a hard time in class.  I just laugh and thank him and tell him how proud I am of what he has become.

Now, I try to focus on the whole child and making sure they know they are important, no matter what their grade is in my class.  So, even though the administration wants every child to be successful and to pass every class, some kids just need a safe place to be during the day.  They have so many things going on at home or in their families, they can't really focus on learning about Black Holes or the wave vs particle theory of light.

So, how was my day?  I'd say pretty successful.  And tonight I think I will crochet something, either a baby hat or dog sweater.