after a hiatus
So here is what I wrote Friday before my computer went attitudinal on me:
After a hiatus, I am back. Easter Break was a wonderful break¡Xa lovely respite from 6.00 mornings. ƒº It is, though, always awkward to return to school after a break. This week we have studied oceans and worked on poetry. The kids are doing really well with the poetry. My 5th and 6th graders are having their in-class recital on Monday. It should be interesting! Actually, a few of these kids are as good as some of the kids I had in college. It¡¦s nice. The upper school kids did well, also. It is interesting to me the way they decide whether or not something is worth their time¡Xand some of them decided that poetry was only partially worth their time. Sigh. What do you do? If a student is satisfied with a mediocre performance/grade, how exactly do you motivate them to strive for more? It is a question that I struggle with all the time (having always taught subjects that many students find ¡§useless¡¨). I don¡¦t know if I¡¦ll ever have the answer to that.
On a different note: yesterday I lost one of my students. ƒ¼ One of my 6th graders has been trying to decide what she wants to do next year¡Xcome back or go to Westdale Middle, a public school where several of her friends go. Her mom hasn¡¦t been able to decide what to do, but took her over to do the entrance exams and all on Wednesday. Well, she called me that evening to tell me that the school had said, ¡§We can take her next week,¡¨ causing immediate conundrums and such. So, her mom decided to go ahead and send her to Westdale for the rest of the year so that they can get a taste for it and be able to make a better-informed decision about next year. But it is sad for all of us. And really disrupting. Sigh. Why is change the constant in life? I don¡¦t prefer it. At all.
New paragraph.
Okay. I don't really remember what I was going to write in the next paragraph. I did discover what Mary wanted to talk to me about--not nearly as stressful as I thought it would be: I accidentaly let a "boob" comment slip during 5th grade history last week. I immediately apologized to the kids for saying something so inappropriate and silly, but I also made a comment about not running straight home and saying that's all they learned today. So Mary had two parents say something to her about it. I felt really embarrassed. But I also feel a little miffeDATE: if the parents had an issue with something I said or did, why didn't they call me and talk to me about it. I'm the one who made the really dumb slip-up. Sigh. At least I know I'm not the only teacher ever who's said something stupid and inappropriate by accident. Some days I just fell hopeless.
On a brighter note, the 5th/6th grade had their poetry recital today, and everyone did a wonderful job! I was so very proud of them. Yay! At any rate, I have to run grab a note to send home--I have a field trip on Friday and no drivers!!!!