A Long week...

My sister tells me that I am tired this week because, as a teacher, I am not used to a five day work week. Insert here:  Smile... fake laugh: Ha ha ha...and...  smack!  However I did wake up Tuesday thinking it was Wednesday and then Wednesday thought it was Friday... so the actual Thursday and Friday seemed like going to school on the weekend.  A long week does not mean a bad week... it was a pretty good week... I had two of my meetings for which I have so much paperwork... and, as much as it pained me to miss additional time with my kids, I remained in the conference room after everyone else had left and did my paperwork for that meeting, at least to the point where I can be done without having supervisors review and approve it.  I hated missing that time with the kids, but it does take a big weight off my shoulders knowing that it is off my very long 'to-do' list.

I got to see some kids make great progress with some of their math skills and the new incentive program is working well.  Today kids were keeping track of not only their points, but the points of the other kids, to see if they could pool their points and buy the Teacher has to make brownies prize... Not only are they working together to get brownies, they are encouraging each other to meet their goals.  It's fun to see that dynamic.  One of my students, a girl, who is so classically learning disabled in reading, who works so hard to read... has been reading reading reading!  She is a girl who lives on a farm and her interests revolve around life on her farm.  Her family has a beef farm and they also make maple syrup.  Knowing she was a reluctant reader I was determined to find some books that she would get excited about.  I spent probably 3 hours one afternoon researching books on Amazon.com and found some books I thought she would get excited about.  Thankfully my principal gave the green light to order them and she chose to first read the one that is about a maple syrup farm set in Auburn, Maine, based on a true story. In the first week of the incentive program, she made it her goal to read 10 pages between Monday and Friday.  She read 15 I think... this week her goal was to read 20 pages, and she has read 22!  I am so excited!  On Sunday I am going to visit her at her house, to meet her parents and to meet her four new baby cows.  She raises the cows and will show them at agricultural fairs around New England for the next few years.  She seems really excited that I am coming and I cannot wait to see her in her natural habitat!

Thursday night I got to have dinner with a friend of mine who I had not seen in over a year... She has been going through a rough time, making big changes in her life.  It was great to reconnect.  We talked for almost three hours and can't wait to get together again soon.

Tonight... I left work and went shopping, for new sneakers... earlier this week I had begun to get back into my exercise routine and my knees and feet were hurting.  I realized I had not bought new sneakers in a very long time so today found a good deal and will break them in this weekend.  Then I did something I have avoided for about... ohh.. say... 12 years!  I chaperoned a dance at the middle school.  In past years I have paid $20 to have someone cover for me when it was my turn to chaperone... but tonight the proceeds form the dance were going towards an 8th grade field trip that happens in the spring... and since my homeroom is made up of 8th graders... well... seemed appropriate.  It was not as bad as I thought it would be.  Kids were both happy and mortified to realize my threats of chaperoning a dance had finally come to fruition.  This week, specifically, when kids were misbehaving I told them to knock it off or I would find them at the dance on Friday and embarrass them as I demonstrated my amazing dance skills.  I managed to find some of these students and didn't embarrass them too badly... but I have to admit I couldn't stop myself from doing the Macarena...and one of my students came and did it next to me while a few others stood shaking their heads!  My favorite part of the night... the last dance... a slow one of course... (Why they have slow songs at middle school dances is beyond me!...) Wow did I gain some info about some of my kids... the quietest kid in my homeroom was totally lovestruck by some chick that I don't know... mental note to find out who she is and which homeroom she is in... this explains some recent changes in his behavior... AND some of my boys were slow dancing with girls!!!  but my favorite part... was seeing one of our shortest 8th grade boys slow dancing with one of our tallest 8th grade girls... hands on her hips just staring up at her... sooo cute!  I must say I was reminded of my middle school dances ... where our guidance counselor walked around with a ruler, making sure that we were far enough apart from one another during the slow dances!

So another part of this week involved job stuff... there have been a couple of jobs posted.... one is the director of a technical high school, used to be called a vocational school... and the other is an assistant principal job at a high school... The first one... I am reluctant to apply...because I don't think I want to be there.  It is located in my hometown... where I grew up... and I am not sure I would want to move back there... but as one of my mentors told me today, I should apply and accept an interview if it was offered, for the experience.  So... I may... The other job, the high school asst. principal job is also further from Portland than I would like to be ideally.. however...given the recent paperwork discussion... I know that I need a change... and if that means moving a bit further away to do it.. so be it.  Fortunately, my mentor, from the career technology high school I spent time at last year, knows A LOT of people in that area and knows A LOT about the dynamics, politics, and history of the schools in that area.  I spoke with him on the phone today and he gave me a lot of insight about both of these positions and told me about four other positions he knows are opening up.  So... today I began completing the application for the assistant principal position.... I need to be doing things to feel like I am still moving forward towards my goal.  One step at a time...