Mid January
Right after Christmas,we had extended cold and school was cancelled for a few days. On one hand, I was happy because that gave me more time to work on my own projects but on the other, I kept thinking about the time we were losing for class projects. So goes the dilemas for many a teacher.
Once we got back to school, the new classes seemed to be running smoothly except for DI.
I have been so confused about that proccess, I was getting incresingly snippy about the whole thing. It really started to feel above and beyond my pay grade. Luckily, another teacher stepped in today and took most of the headaches away. I'm feeling much better tonight, but I have to be honest and say I was very close to the end of my frustration rope.
Now, I need to focus on the kids being ready by March 6th and the rest will just have to work itself out. I am probably going be a judge and Maura just informed me her friends created a team so I'm feeling a bit better about giving up 3 saturdays and lots of driving time to DI.
That's an important point. When you have kids, there is a certain amount of volunteering that goes on, depending on what they are involved in. If you want any sort of family life and personal time, you really need to stick closely to volunteering only for those events. Even then, there will be extra meetings you have to do that your kids won't. Suddenly, you find yourself overscheduled. It really doesn't matter which organization you are talking about. It happens everywhere. Band, you get booster meetings, DI, judge training, 4-H - project meeting your kids might not be in and judging, PSR- teacher training meetings and child safety classes. It goes on and on. It can eat you alive.
But- I am a believer in the concept of "It takes a villiage" and I do love the kids. I do want to support the kids in everything they do and I'm not talking about just my kids. Today, I couldn't have been prouder of a student to received an award for an essay he wrote than if it was my own kid. I was so proud to have been there. Sometimes I feel so much pain for the kids and some of their situations. I start waking up in the middle of the night with worry for them. That's a dangerous place for me to be. It's one of the reasons I am a substitute instead of a "real" teacher. There's really only two ways I know to deal with their pain. By not getting too close to them or hardening myself to it. I'd prefer not to be hardened. So, I keep my distance. It's just a bit harder to do that when I am there for 4 months.