shorts

From this past week:

Monday: Early morning. My principal comes into my room with a student (who had run and my assistant had followed.) I welcome the child back and thank him for making the right decision. The principal says, "Mrs. (blank) left." She doesn't come back for two days. I have an amazing substitute assistant the first day. I ask if I can keep her.

Tuesday: Substitute assistant from hell. Judge-y McJudgerson will not be invited back to my room ever again, for my students' safety and my sanity.

Wednesday: My mentor's assistant occasionally drops into my room to ask if I need anything or to courier a message. She came by after school to chat and said her favorite quote from me that day was: "Here's a sticker for being ABOVE the table." Hmm, small steps, right?

Thursday: Literacy night. I was a registration greeter instead of running a workshop. My school psych, who has seen how well my students are progressing in reading despite their various behavioral . . . quirks, suggested that I lead a workshop next year. Her original thought for a title was "How to teach reading to students who are alternatively under or on top of the table, or climbing on you, or running out of the room, or throw books instead of reading them, or . . ." We decided a better title would be "How to trick your child into learning to read."

Friday: Overheard: "It's 2:40 and I want to go home. Why can't kids have psychotic episodes on Wednesdays at 9:00?"