When Inspiration Strikes...

When inspiration strikes....

...you go with it.

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Small Wins

Thank God for Small Wins.

That seems to be the theme of this year.

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Lost, but Here

It's one in the morning on a Sunday night and I'm still awake binging on episodes of Glee and the adult version of KoolAid, Crystal Light. Luckily for me, our district decided to give us a 3-day weekend (which means we have tomorrow off). My district is good like that. This year we have at least one 3-day weekend every month. It's pretty nice.

They're pretty awesome, overall, my district. I mean, they support their teachers in every way imaginable. We have a paper budget, a scope and sequence, and trainings in everything they expect us to utilize in the classroom. We have minimum days built into our schedule so that we have time for professional development without having to miss class. We have late-start days built in for PLC time. We have a superintendent who bought a program called MyAccess and is working on getting the district over 5,000 Chromebooks.

So why I am awake at 1 am? It's not just because I have a day off tomorrow.

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What am I doing right?

I took on a new prep this year. I teach a class called CR3 as well as my ELA 8 Mainstream. CR stands for Core Replacement, and it's a Language Learner (ELL) class at the highest level for middle school. It's also two periods long.

Taking on this prep actually added on about 3 more meetings per biweekly basis. There are also more trainings involved. Joining the AVID team, a new computer AI grading program, and BTSA on top of all that, and I feel like I'm barely staying afloat.

Trainings mean taking time out and having a sub. Subs mean having sub plans, prepping your students in all procedures, as well as prepping them mentally, and dealing with the aftermath when the sub ultimately fails (with at least one student) no matter how hard you prepped. Oh, and the guilt of leaving your brand new babies the second week of school.

So that's why I haven't been posting.

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Sometimes You Fail

Sometimes you fail. And it hurts. Oh, how it hurts. Ultimately, you get over it and move on. Ideally, you learn from the mistake. Hopefully, it doesn't affect the rest of the world too badly. But, yes... we fail.

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CLS: Kate Kinsella

I recently went to a conference in Palm Springs to see Kate Kinsella speak. That was all we were told about the conference. But that was enough -- Anyone who teaches in California, or who works with EL Students, knows her name. Kate Kinsella conference? Yes, please!

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Staples Teacher Appreciation Day

I love Staples. I love them a lot. But most importantly, I love deals. And right now, Staples has a great deal for teachers. Two, actually. And since companies aren't that great at spreading the information about teacher-specific deals, I'm going to share.

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