pI am being observed tomorrow. It is strange for me because we have a new administration and they are requiring that we present pre-observation notes and a formal lesson plan. I am a little nervous about how the children may behave. I am doing a board race as a review for the unit we will be testing on Friday. I hope they can handle the activity and pay no attention to the principal in the room. Wish me luck. span style=”font-family:Wingdings”J/span/p

pMy youngest child is in Kindergarten and got in trouble last week at school. He is not the kind of child that responds to a spanking. He will take that punishment and smile knowing that it is over and he can go back to doing what he wants. Because he is so social we decided to not let him participate this weekend in anything social. He is surprisingly upset by this. He has watched me do laundry and went to the grocery with me. Each time I had a new task to take care of he sat down and cried telling me how bored he was. I am hoping with this he has learned his lesson and will behave next week in school. Pray for me that this works.
/ppOne thing I learned about myself is that, even though, I don’t feel like my life is boring because, I have so much to do, it must seem so to others. I have never seen anyone cry from boredom. span style=”font-family:Wingdings”J/span/p

pI had my students write about having a new president today in class. Many of my students said they didn’t care because they were only twelve. I understand how far removed they must feel from current events but, I thought that such an event as this would be a pivotal moment in their lives. I guess that middle school is really the time for egos. I am trying hard to remember if there was anything this strong occurring in history when I was twelve and if I even cared. I am hurting myself trying to think that far back. I am going to quit now. span style=”font-family:Wingdings”J/span/p

pI just learned at this late hour that our new President will be Barack Obama. I have so much on my mind finishing up and getting ready to start new classes that I don’t think I can even have that sink in right now. Perhaps tomorrow I will have more thought on the subject but, right now it is about final papers and new classes. I wonder if anyone else has a world that seems so small and so large at the same time like me. It seems surreal that I am living this history and yet I don’t feel like I am experiencing it./p

pI think I have lost my jump drive. I am praying that it is on my desk at work. Say a prayer for me tonight. It has been one crazy weekend. The kids were off the hook at school on Friday and I had my own children to get ready for Halloween and their celebrations at school and then my husband got sick. I feel like the end is never coming to all the stress. Please, let the jump drive be at school! span style=”font-family:Wingdings”L/span/p

I can not believe all I have forgotten about being a student. It is so weird that I have been struggling to keep up with my family, job, and school. I take for granted that the students I teach also have lives. I feel like I am on the other side of something today. It usually seems like the students are the ones who think we eat, breath, and sleep education.

I guess I never thought it was wrong to expect them to carry multiple activities but, as I find myself in their position I am finding it strange to reflect on how stressful homework can really be. Especially for students like myself who strive for that sense of perfection in every assignment. I am failing miserably right now! It is surreal and humorous in so many ways. J

My kids told me today that their elementary school uses different songs to get the kids going in the morning. They said that the teachers play different songs each morning to get the kids up and dancing in the gym before any instruction takes place. I thought this was a really innovative idea. I have never heard of something like this but, it seems to have my kids really excited about going to school in the morning. I wonder if it would work for all grade levels. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?

It really hasn’t felt like much of a Fall Break. I have not really relaxed this whole week and it is almost over. I need time to regenerate. I am hoping to get this last thing on my “to do” list done by Sunday. It is really sad that I have to put relax on the “to do” list. All the things I can’t seem to catch up to and that is one of them. Terrible! Just venting. Hope you don’t mind. I bet there a more of you that feel like this week has just flown by. It seems like the year has done that too.

I am teaching a persuasive unit in my Language Arts class and used Rudy Giuliani’s keynote speech from the Republican National convention. I am wondering now if this was a mistake. Are the students bombarded at home with the talk of the upcoming election? Do they even care? I used this particular speech because it was extremely persuasive and I think the students need more of the “real world” application in my class. I teach ancient history and feel that my kids are not exposed enough to current events. Just reflecting on the days lessons.

lenora-1st-pod-cast.mp3

My attempts at Pod Casting for the Blog.