Time Change

The bi-annual time change is another curse to teachers. The students are in a routine a rhythm and it is quickly demolished with the time change. It also has an impact on their teacher. Can we just leave it alone? Is this necessary anymore?

After work I ran home to pick up my grocery list that I forgot. Then I ran to the post office in an attempt to make it before it closed. I found it closed and an awful sign. The hours have changed to 7:30a.m.-4 p.m. My contract ours are 7-4:30 so this is a bummer. I will have to wait until Friday to send any mail. Not very convenient. It has to do with meeting the deadline to get it to the sorting center or something in that very big bright city down south. Sigh! After this I ran to the grocery store and bought the items I had forgotten when I ran this weekend. All of this took about 1/2 hour and I was whining about how long it took. Then I had to tell myself how ridiculous that was. In a bigger city it would take 1/2 hour just to run one of those errands. I was chastised sufficiently.

One item I had forgotten to purchase was baking powder. Thursday we have our monthly staff potluck. I usually don't bring anything nor do I eat anything. I thought I would contribute this time. However, I have meetings in the evening every night this week other than tonight. So I had to get the baking done tonight. So zucchini chocolate chip muffins are in the oven as I type. I did not use my gluten free flour for my work pals. Gluten Free flour isn't cheap so I wasn't wasting it on my colleagues! HA!  They won't care. I am throwing them in the freezer after they bake. Hopefully they turn out okay. It was a bread recipe not a muffin recipe. So I'd best be careful not to burn them.

I was so pooped when I got home from school that I was having trouble staying awake. After burning my dinner I decided just to go to bed. I knew I would wake up in a couple hours ready to get something done. Not a very good sleep pattern but to function...it worked.

Three weeks until Spring Break and 41 school days with students left. This year has flown by. At times it felt like it was dragging. Even on my bad days I try not to wish the year away because it does fly by.

In good news from the school front the district hired a ELL teacher part time for the rest of the year. They "found" some grant money they could put toward this. The awesome part is this is a retired teacher of the best quality. I am so happy for one of my ELL students that is totally lost. I think this child is living in poverty and I don't see a lot of motivation from the parents to change. I have another ELL student that the parents are extremely motivated. The parents English is so broken I find it very difficult to understand them. However, what I do understand is they want to make sure their child does well in life and they want her to succeed. We have a great parent-teacher relationship  because they make it so clear they are working hard on their end as well. Even with their limited understanding. It is just awesome to see.

I have another student whose life has been chaos. It sounds like someone has finally stepped in to make things better. I can only hope this is the case! Students lives are sometimes absolutely and completely heart-breaking. Then I expect them to learn in school. Sigh. I still push them the same as the rest. Do you know why? This might be their only chance to change their life path. I might be the only person who expects them to succeed.  So very little slack is granted. I want them all to do their best whatever that may be that day.

Good luck adjusting your circadian rhythms to the time change. UGGH