I'm trying to write...no really!

Have you ever had one of those periods in your life when you just don’t seem to have time to get everything done that you want to?

And when you have those times, do you find yourself prioritizing your to-do list for the week?

Then does it always seem like you can never find time to accomplish the last few things on your list, so you just keep moving bumping them over to the next week in hopes of somehow finding the time to do them?

If so, then welcome to my world.

The beginning of each teaching year is like that for me. Nothing, other than school stuff, ever seems to get done. Due to my inability to “jump” right back into the swing of things I spend what feels like an eternity playing catch up.

You would think after 14 years of teaching I would have figured out how to flip my school mode personality on and off like a light. However, I spend several weeks winding down at the beginning of the summer and several more getting geared back up in the fall.

All that to say, I’m trying to write…I really am.

On a fun note, I read my Frog Memory (You can read it here) story to my class and they laughed like it was the funnies thing they had ever heard. I even got a few fun comments and two or three odd looks from some of the parents the next day.

I’m not sure, but I think this only confirms their suspicions that they have a strange teacher. A mindset that I do everything I possibly can to encourage.

With this age of kid, the weirder you are the better…at least in my mind.

What ever happened to Jr. High?

When I was in jr. high it was very different than it is today…at least that’s my impression. Sure, it was 30 years ago, but I don’t remember there being such a huge effort to teach organization skills as well as the curriculum.

At my daughter’s school every student has a day planner that they MUST have with them at all times. If you are ever caught without it, then you get after school detention.

I had never even heard of a day planner until I was in graduate school, and by then all my bad scheduling habits were so ingrained that it was literally teaching an old dog new tricks. Actually, one of my goals for this school year has to do with organization. I’m going to do my lesson plans on the computer, because I tend to keep better track of the things I do if they are on the computer.

But I digress…

All I remember about jr. high was trying to look cool while at the same time keep my grades above the D mark, a stunt that didn’t always happen. The only choices I had were whether or not to play football and if I wanted to take art or music. I just circled my choices on a sheet of paper and stuck it in a box.

For Macy it’s a lot like college was for me. She has to decide about athletics, pre-AP classes and band. Basically she arranges her own schedule. She’s making decisions in jr. high that effect classes she will be able to take in high school that can give her college credit!

Growing up in El Paso, my dad was of staff at UTEP, so I knew what college was. I probably couldn’t have spelled the word college, but I knew it was a place people went after high school.

There’s always somewhere she’s supposed to be, something she’s supposed to have and somebody we’re supposed to give money to. All I know is Melissa and I are being baptized by fire.

It’s a whole new world.

Another FUNY Thing Happened...

I'm sorry about the spelling problem with my last posting's title. You would think that I could at least write the title without any spelling errors!

Now let me see...what would I say to one of my fourth graders if he or she turned in a paper with the title misspelled?

I bet it wouldn't be funy...

Funy Things Happen...

My school has a new principal.

This is my 14th teaching year, but only my first time to get a new principal. I’ve changed schools twice and have changed principals both of those times, but this is a wee-bit different.

Having your boss be the new kid on the block is a little strange. However, his personality and his “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” attitude, are making the transition very easy.

Last week he sent out an email to the entire faculty. It sounded something like this:

“For future reference, if you happen to see me walking through the building with a dab of icing on my chin, please feel free to point it out to me.”

As I read the message I wasn't sure if he was trying to just make a random request to break the ice with his new staff, or if something like this had happened to him.

The next time I saw him I asked him why he would make such a request and he turned red.

It seems that early that morning someone in the building had given him a cupcake. He ate the cupcake and went about the business of being a principal. He had spent time in the office, walked through several classrooms, and more than likely had talked with more than a couple of parents.

Sometime around lunch he happened by a mirror and noticed a spot of icing that had been on his chin for most of the day.

I must admit…I laughed out loud at his story, but he laughed too.

It makes things much easier when you discover that not only is your new boss a regular guy, but he's also kind of person who can laugh at himself.

Like I said, funny things happen!