T minus 8 and counting!

Oh the weather has spoiled us lately. It has been GORGEOUS. No one wants to learn...we want to play. And honestly I kind of want to play too. I'm in serious need of a break. Spring Break should be a month long. Really. At least it should be so if the weather is going to be such a teaser! 

At any rate...life goes on. My big blue box made it to San Antonio today. What.A.Load.Off. Not that I was that worried (I did ship it Priority after all so they'd take a little more care with it). Considering I wanted to barf all afternoon Friday after realizing I was DONE and shipping it off....a big sense of relief came over me when I realized that it's there, it's safe and all contents have been accepted. Whew!

8 days left for teachers before Spring Break. We have some guru from a big educational firm coming in to do surveys and observations and whatnot. Generally, he is already being a pain in the ass and I think the staff at my school would collectively like to kick him in the teeth. I'm not worried. I have nothing to hide at all. But clearly this guy is NOT an educator because there were issues with the scheduling and he basically said make it work or else. Nice. Because we don't have STUDENTS we're responsible for or anything. Sheesh. So glad I am not on the leadership team because I'd have to sit in a meeting with this dude for 4 hours over the next few days. No.Thank.You.

There is much work to be done and I'm overwhelming thinking about it all. I will buck up and do it, however, because that's what we do, right? You work your butt off, make it happen and move on. I will do the essentials tonight. The rest can wait until planning time tomorrow. 

Spent the weekend at my cabin (aka my happy place, aka the best place I have ever been in my life) and on the way home yesterday The Husband said "so are your batteries recharged?". Yep. Until today when reality hits of course! *wink* I am so planning to spend my Spring Break there. 10 days away from Internet, computers and reality. 10 days in the woods, away from it all. Peace. Relaxation. Bliss. Man, I can't wait.

The End

Today marked the end for me. It's over now. Finito.

Well, at least part of it. I made a goal to complete my NB portfolio by today. No matter what. Hell or high water and all of that.

I mailed that blue box at 1:04 p.m. EST. And felt kind of sick to my stomach. I'm not sure WHY I felt like I needed to hurl for about 2 hours after I mailed it...but I did. Now is the time that you start to wonder about it. Because now...it's gone. You can't fix anything else. It's done. You have no more control over what you have done because you will never see those papers again (at least not in any form that would allow you to revise them and send them in again).

I got my nails and toes done afterward. Spent about 2.5 hours at the salon because they were quite busy. I didn't mind though. Feels nice to treat myself to something after working my butt off for so long. The Oldest mentioned that I will actually be able to RELAX and they will get to see me again.

True, true. All very true.

I am done with NB until April 9. I am taking the next three weeks to myself. Two more weeks of school and then Spring Break. And I am not thinking about NB whatsoever. It's forbidden.

Once we're back in the swing of things in April, I will begin my preparation for the assessment center. If things go well with my prep work, I may move my appointment up to the earlier part of May. Get it done and over with while my prep is fresh in my head. I'm not sure about that part yet. We'll see.

I felt kind of lost after I left the post office. This has consumed me for a long time. And I feel kind of empty now. Because that part is done. It's by far the biggest part of the process -- in my eyes at least -- because of the writing you have to do. Writing and reflecting. Reflecting and writing. And repeat.

So looking forward to heading up north this weekend. In March (!!) to open our cabin since it has been so spring-like. I am going to spend some time creatively writing while there. Because I will have time to first of all but also because the story is dying to come out. I got the big part out -- now I just need to make it prettier to read. Oddly enough there was a show on the TV at the salon where a woman revealed something she'd held in for 40 years....and it was so much a mirror to my own recent situation. I took it as a sign. The words are there. And they are powerful. And it's time they were told. I'm 99% sure I will self publish at Amazon since it's so easy to do. And I am pretty good at editing my own writing so hopefully that will be easy for me to manage as well. I don't expect to make money telling my story...but I do expect to heal. And if that happens, life will be amazing.

Are you KIDDING me?!

Let me preface this to say that I am going to TRY to recount this as positively as possible....but I may just go into rant mode. Hours and hours later and I am STILL trying to pick my jaw up off the floor. Unreal.

This morning my team and I had a Reading Street follow-up training. It was off-site from our school and we had to be there at 8. I did not go to school beforehand like usual, I just went to the school where it was held. We were in a classroom area with all of 2nd grade but split into groups. We had a lot of schools from the other side of town in our group. I kind of like that because it provides you with different experiences and perspectives.

We're sitting there, my team and I, listening to the presentation, hearing other people share their experiences and chiming in as needed. At one point, a table on the other side of the room said something about reading all of the tests to the students. Wait. Hold on here....you read a reading test to the kids? After the 1st semester?? It's a reading test!!! How else are you going to know if kids are reading and making meaning??

So Miss W, who was sitting next to me, nudges me and says "Sunny, you are SO on with the MEAP, you need to say something about this". So I did. I politely pointed out that in 3rd grade no one will read the MEAP test to these children. They have to read it to themselves. Do you know what these 2nd grade teachers did?

They laughed. They laughed! One even had the nerve to say, we teach 2ND grade, not 3rd.

Oh.My.Lanta.

I hate to break it to you darling but the 3rd grade MEAP is based upon the 2nd grade standards!! So yes, you ARE responsible for getting these children ready for this test!

Miss W was literally shaking, she was SO pissed. Mrs. E couldn't pick her jaw up off the floor. THEN these other teachers say how they are "accommodating" these kids. It isn't an accommodation. It's cheating. If the child does not have an IEP that states the tests are read to them, you HAVE to teach them test taking strategies and let them make mistakes and then reteach. But you don't use the test that was corrected and then retested for your data...and that's what they are doing.

We left fuming. FUMING. Since I did not ride with my team, I got back after they did. Mrs. E was outside getting something from her car and stopped me and said Miss W went right into Mrs. Principal's office and was telling her about it. I snuck in and said I just wanted her to know that I have never been more proud to be part of a team that has INTEGRITY and is HONEST with our data. Later, I saw Mrs. Principal in the  lunch area and said again that I was still just reeling...and that even if my data is horrible, at least it is authentic!! She pointed out that these other teachers are going to be HAD because it will become obvious that they fluff their data, it isn't accurate and that OUR students are making solid growth because our data is not altered. It is what those children are able to do!

I am honestly just appalled. How can you call yourself a teacher if you lie like that?? It's a reading test! Designed to measure if they can make meaning without support!! I can tell you that none of my team was shocked when we thought about all of the children we have gotten from these schools and why they are so low. Their hands are held for them, always.

There are things about my team that I wish they would change...but even Miss W said to me, "Sunny, you push us toward the higher level, we needed you to help us do that -- these other teachers have no one pushing them and they are so unlucky". That made me feel good. Even though we've had our ups and downs, I do feel like we can be an outstanding team. We can kick some major ass. And our data won't be made up, "accommodated" or false. 

And damn it, I will happily stand up and proclaim that YES only half of my class made a benchmark scores long as those scores are THEIRS and not fluffed. Who does that help?? Certainly not the children.

Service Learning

Today was our Service Learning field trip! There were a couple of snafus but the trip was successful nonetheless. I only ended up with 19 kiddos of my 27 which is a great amount of kids for a trip like that! Some were absent, some did not get to go because their behavior IN school does not warrant me taking them OUT of school. 

The students and I read "Magic Trash" and made our own Magic Trash. Today we took a bus across town and presented our creations to a senior community to teach them about what WE learned about recycling. The kids presented their projects and told the seniors about them. Some were super cute: one was made from a laundry detergent bottle with the cap of an old sippy cup for a nose and that group named it "Pinocchio" because of it's nose. Lots of robots in the group and the seniors were really graceful and impressed by how creative the kiddos were.

Since my kiddos are all from the inner city area, most of them have never been to anywhere as nice as the senior community we went to. It's still in the city but on the other side of town and what a difference! The kids thought we left the state. One of my colleagues said "well that's 2nd graders for you"....no, I've had 4th and 5th graders ask me the same type of question before. It isn't the age, it's the fact that so many of these children never go outside of their own neighborhood. Their idea of a trip is to Walmart. It's kind of sad.

Anyway, I'm really glad we did this. I'm not sure I would do this kind of trip again with kiddos so young. It was fun, they learned a lot and the seniors LOVED it....but it was a lot of work for me and on top of everything else this year, it got overwhelming sometimes. Couple that with the fact that 10 minutes before we were supposed to board the bus, I had to suspend a child (for pulling down another child's pants in the bathroom -- 2nd grade!! Who the &*(&* does that?!) AND my principal comes upstairs and says that I did not have authorization for this field trip. Are you joking? I have been planning it since August, everything was given to you in January....so after we got back I emailed everything I had already given her (remember that whole CYA thing?) and then she emails me back with a form I have NEVER SEEN in the two years I have been there and says "this form has to be filled out too". Cue me biting my tongue and just shutting up. Because there is SO much I could say and would like to say. But I'm being positive. So I will not say them. I will just think them. 

Tomorrow is a half day reading training, then boring testing at work in the afternoon. So ready for Friday...it's supposed to be absolutely beautiful and 73. Unheard of for this time of the year.

Spring Cleaning!

Well it certainly is starting to feel like Spring around here! A nice 60 degree day. It's been so cold that around here that means t-shirts! My girls are all not so happy with me because I declared today Spring Cleaning day! It has to be done, right? And now is as good as any time.

Especially because I wanted to throw open the windows, let in the spring breeze and ENJOY the weather. And I can do that best when I know my house is clean.

It hasn't had a SERIOUSLY good cleaning since the fall. It's not horrible, but it needs a good scrub down. And  that's today's task. Then I am taking my happy little iPad out to the deck and working on finishing up E1 and E3. In the sunshine. On March 11. Without a coat.

It's heaven. Really.

Oh Saturday...

We've had some crazy weather here lately. It was SO warm the other day. I left work immediately at 3:30, picked up my kids, was home by 4:15 (that never, ever happens) and we went for a long glorious walk. It was fantastic! 

Then it got cold. Real cold. Sunny and gorgeous but about 40 degrees. Yikes! It is supposed to warm back up tomorrow (low 60s and yes that IS warm for us Michigan folk) and hit 70 by mid week! Spring feels like it might finally be coming. Sooo ready for it too.

The parent I wrote about the other day? Had nothing to say when I proved her wrong. My principal never apologized for insinuating that I wasn't keeping up with communicating with this mom. I do not and will not ever understand why we cater to families like this who contribute nothing but problem. It's ridiculous. And they are on a transfer. If I was in charge, they'd be gone. Period. Mom was all super nice to me at our parent event Thursday though. Imagine that -- I prove you wrong and suddenly you want to be my BFF. I'm telling you, the parents are often the worst part of teaching!!

Yesterday the kiddos painted their service learning projects. It was messy (one kid spilled a whole can...thank goodness he was over the non-carpeted area or we'd all be flogged) but fun. Our inspiration was Magic Trash and the Heidelberg Project. I'm super pleased that their projects actually look like Heidelberg pieces...so fun.

We will let the paint dry over the weekend and then Monday afternoon the kids can add googly eyes, hair (string) and other assortments as needed. They have had a blast with it. We are going to a retirement community on Tuesday and reading them "Magic Trash" and then presenting them with our own Magic Trash creations!

I have had a lot of fun doing this service learning with the kids this year. It's VERY time consuming though and I'm not sure I would take it on this same level again in the future unless I was teaching older kids. It took SO much time and I feel like other things have suffered for it. It's been worth it, don't get me wrong, but on top of everything else I have been working on this year, it may not have been so wise to do it all! :)

Always, always...CYA

You know...I often lament that the worst part about teaching is the parents. Not them all of course. I have some amazing parents this year who are awesome.

But this one parent....is in for a rude awakening. Her child does nothing. NOTHING. (Not an exaggeration.) I prove this to mom weekly by sending home her child's BLANK papers and documenting it on our weekly communication form. Which mom signs. Every week. Which I save because I am not an idiot.

Yet this morning I get an email that mom called the hotline (2nd time this year) to say I never communicate with her about her child's (lack of) progress and she's "concerned" about her child's grades. Uh-huh. Not concerned enough to make your child stop going to the after school program (where she plays) if she doesn't do her work. Not concerned enough to KICK YOUR CHILD'S ASS AND HOLD HER ACCOUNTABLE. 

Principal set up a meeting with this parent -- without my consent or asking me if I was available because I really wasn't -- and then the parent doesn't show up. But don't you forget it is MY fault that this child is failing.

So I emailed Principal and laid it out. AND I copied every.single.paper. that has gone home regarding this child's progress since the beginning of the year. And guess whose signature in on them all? 

Yep. So wanna tell me that I haven't communicated with you about your kid?? Sorry but you picked the wrong person to try to bully. Because I do my job. I ALWAYS do my job. And I can back it up. And I tell the kids that too. Not a single other parent  has had anything negative to say about my classroom this year. Not one. Just her...and it is not a surprise to me that it's the parent whose child spent 3 months crying instead of working and now just plain doesn't do anything except mind everyone else's business. 

I told our secretary that I am going to just set my camera up in my room and videotape this child. And show her mother. And then see her try to worm her way out that.