Why, you ask?
Standardized Testing.
Again.
I'm in the unfortunate position of being a test coordinator which means I have to sit in on every single session of the state standardized test. Today I had the joy of watching 18 third graders plow through 22 math questions on a computer. My favorites are the ones who raise thief hands after 15 minutes to say they're done and have not one thing written on their scratch paper. (Yes, there's more than one of these)
Before I got to
After the standardized testing, I had some time to take a look at the end of the year benchmark tests for all grade levels and work on the login information and getting the test out to all the teachers. I also got called for some tech help, which I always love. It was a surprisingly mellow afternoon for me, which I am so grateful that I had!
After work I spent an hour on the treadmill at the gym catching up on stupid reality shows. Yes, it's my guilty pleasure and helps my workouts fly by!
Came home to a grouchy/miserable husband who just had a tooth pulled. He is in so much pain and so I got to play nurse a little bit and help him try to recover. We were supposed to go out for dinner but he can't eat anything and he didn't feel like leaving the house (can't say I blame him) so we stayed in with the doggies and watched some TV.
Kind of the perfect cap off to a long work week!
Reflection Questions:
1) Teachers make a lot of decisions throughout the day. Sometimes we make so many it feels overwhelming. When you think about today, what is a decision/teacher move you made that you are proud of? What is one you are worried wasn’t ideal?
Totally not a teacher move, but I'm glad I diffused peppermint essential oil next to my desk today because it kept me so calm and relieved a terrible headache I've had all week. I got a diffuser recently for my room at work and I really love it. I also find that other teachers have gravitated towards my room just to come in and inhale the nice scents. So...good teacher move I guess!
2) Every person’s life is full of highs and lows. Share with us some of what that is like for a teacher. What are you looking forward to? What has been a challenge for you lately?
I've really started to feel the end of the year stress in ways I've never felt before. There's just so much to do and wrap up before the kids are gone, and the list of things I need to do to get ready for next year seems to be endless. I'm looking forward to this summer break, but I'm hopeful that I don't spend the whole summer doing work (which I usually do)
3) We are reminded constantly of how relational teaching is. As teachers we work to build relationships with our coworkers and students. Describe a relational moment you had with someone recently.
I did some testing on a kiddo to see how their math skills were. This child also had an upcoming IEP meeting and the classroom teacher invited me to come to the meeting. I'm glad I did because I got to add some of my insights into the meeting and I think at the end we came up with some good strategies for this child. The teacher was very appreciative and thanked me several times. I'm glad I was able to be an additional resource for the teacher, and for the child.
4) Teachers are always working on improving, and often have specific goals for things to work on throughout a year. What have you been doing to work toward your goal? How do you feel you are doing?
I'm still plugging away and trying to be a better teacher and coach every day. I'm definitely more settled into my coach role now that it's year 2 for me, and I'm going to be setting some pretty lofty goals for the next school year!
5) What else happened this month that you would like to share?
Testing is almost over. I got a grant approved. I became an undergrad professor on the side. Nothing too major. *wink*
