Good Afternoon

Hello, I am still putting in grades, occasionally. But today I have spread everything out, I am looking over all the answers and reading the assignments over again. Its like a countdown. Tomorrow is the last day. Last day of vacation too. I do them sporadically. Its not like I am dedicatedly sitting here glued to my seat entering grades.

I am trying to enter as much as I can so I can start off the last quarter on top of things. Let us not forget the lesson plans. Having said all of that, I am happy to go back to work on Monday. I have found solace in this career. I have to, otherwise I am a grouch and who wants to be grouchy all day. Everything cant be just about the money. There are many things that have been done because of money. You have to pay the bills, everything about every job is never pleasant but overall, if the good out weighs the bad, then you stay.

You have to do something you enjoy and I do enjoy teaching and education. Its just that I know I am severely challenged with middle school students. I have stepped back and found some different techniques, more professional development and a new attitude about my expectations. Don't lower them, just modify them with a different timeline, a different method to accomplish that goal. It all sounds good now. Lets see what happens after Monday. Monday won't be so bad with a meeting in the afternoon.
What did you do today? What did you have for lunch? What are your plans this evening? I wonder, I wonder, I wonder.

So to encourage me to improve my attitude I am reading the reflection and renewal guide to The Courage to Teach. On that note, I will leave you with this quote:
"If we want to reform education in the face of great obstacles, we need to develop a "movement mentality", a way of experiencing resistance not as a source of defeat but as a source of energy. There are four phases in a teacher's life: teaching from the heart, losing heart, seeking to take heart, and giving heart to students.

What phase am I in?

God Bless You today and be a blessing to someone. I love you. Stay warm tonight. Snow, can you believe it!