It’s been a whirlwind, ladies and gentlemen.  An absolute whirlwind.  Week 6: surprise! schedule change.  Week 10: surprise! schedule change.  Oh wait, just kidding, let’s wait a bit and then Week 12: schedule change now!  It’s hard to get into a classroom routine when your classes keep shifting.

On the plus side, this has let me get back into teaching a section of Read 180. As I’m taking classes to add a Moderate Disabilities license to my teaching licenses, working with struggling readers is a definite plus.  (I had gained two sections and then lost one, but one is better than none!)

Even more on the plus side, it has allowed me to co-teach with another woman in my department.  This woman is lovely.  We have similar philosophies, ups and downs, skills and struggles.  I suspect (as she is a bit older than me) that I am looking at the woman I am becoming. She is an incredible sounding board.  Since my work wife left at the end of the 2016 – 17 year, it has been lonely at work.  It’s not as lonely right now.

Going back to the Mod Dis license, I completed my first class on Positive Behavior Intervention and Support.  Confession: I am NOT a good student.  This class was filled with dynamic, diverse women who teach in a variety of types of schools, and yet, all of us, every last one of us, love our students (even, maybe especially, the punky ones) and believe that behavior is a form of communication, and that students would do well if they could.

Last year was rough on me. My work wife moved.  I turned 42. I fell down a flight of stairs and was out of work for 5 weeks.  I felt lonely and isolated a lot.  Honestly, I wasn’t sure that teaching was the right career path for me. Co-teaching helped, but this class, man, it was rejuvenating on a level that I never expected.  My next class – it starts in January – is about learning disabilities.  I’m nervous about it, but I’m hoping it is as exciting and educational.