October Rush
October is such a busy time for me. I have to evaluate each of my thirty-five students online, for fifty different criteria for each child. The old-fashioned method of using pencil and paper would be much faster. Even though I've been testing kids individually and working on this assessment ever since school started in August, the final rush to get it done before parent/teacher conferences is almost overwhelming. I certainly couldn't do it without the assistance of my faithful para-professionals. But, finally, it's done! What a relief!
This assessment is partially the result of the No Child Left Behind legislation, which is about ten years old. On one hand, such assessments provide valuable information about each child, so that I can tailor my lesson plans to meet each child's needs, and share assessment results with eager parents. But, on the other hand, the whole assessment process takes away from the time I could be using to work with children to boost their skills. Again, I am so thankful for my aides, who do such a great job of providing just what our students need, even when I'm preoccupied with the assessment.
Now I can move on to next week's parent/teacher conferences. Most elementary teachers schedule conferences for two days, in the late afternoons and evenings, hoping that at least half of their students' parents show up. Last spring, I had 100% attendance at my parent/teacher conferences. That is rare, even on the preschool level, but I can usually expect to see at least 90% of my students' parents, because they are always so excited to see how their children are doing in their first school experience.
But, do the math with me; thirty-five students (seventeen from my morning class, and eighteen from my afternoon class) with twenty minutes for each conference means...seemingly endless conferences. So, I'll be conducting conferences after school, from 4:00 to 8:00 for three days, and again from 11:30 to 4:00 another afternoon. By the time next Friday rolls around, I'll desperately need that day off to recuperate. In the meantime, I really hope I don't pick up a virus or develop a sinus infection, because I just don't have time to be sick.
Of course, my extended schedule means that Bill will have extra dad-duty next week. It's a good thing that he likes to cook. We'll have to squeeze in parent/teacher conferences for Victoria and Levi somewhere next week, too, as well as a regular Cub Scout meeting and piano lessons, a VOTA concert at Meagan's school, and Halloween preparations. Whew!
At busy times like this, I'm glad to have a loving husband who is willing to take up the slack. I'm grateful for friends who pray for us. But, above all, I'm glad that God promises to be with me, always. He makes seemingly impossible situations become possible and bearable. Without Him, life would be a mess. But, with Him, even hard things can become satisfying and joyful.
This assessment is partially the result of the No Child Left Behind legislation, which is about ten years old. On one hand, such assessments provide valuable information about each child, so that I can tailor my lesson plans to meet each child's needs, and share assessment results with eager parents. But, on the other hand, the whole assessment process takes away from the time I could be using to work with children to boost their skills. Again, I am so thankful for my aides, who do such a great job of providing just what our students need, even when I'm preoccupied with the assessment.
Now I can move on to next week's parent/teacher conferences. Most elementary teachers schedule conferences for two days, in the late afternoons and evenings, hoping that at least half of their students' parents show up. Last spring, I had 100% attendance at my parent/teacher conferences. That is rare, even on the preschool level, but I can usually expect to see at least 90% of my students' parents, because they are always so excited to see how their children are doing in their first school experience.
But, do the math with me; thirty-five students (seventeen from my morning class, and eighteen from my afternoon class) with twenty minutes for each conference means...seemingly endless conferences. So, I'll be conducting conferences after school, from 4:00 to 8:00 for three days, and again from 11:30 to 4:00 another afternoon. By the time next Friday rolls around, I'll desperately need that day off to recuperate. In the meantime, I really hope I don't pick up a virus or develop a sinus infection, because I just don't have time to be sick.
Of course, my extended schedule means that Bill will have extra dad-duty next week. It's a good thing that he likes to cook. We'll have to squeeze in parent/teacher conferences for Victoria and Levi somewhere next week, too, as well as a regular Cub Scout meeting and piano lessons, a VOTA concert at Meagan's school, and Halloween preparations. Whew!
At busy times like this, I'm glad to have a loving husband who is willing to take up the slack. I'm grateful for friends who pray for us. But, above all, I'm glad that God promises to be with me, always. He makes seemingly impossible situations become possible and bearable. Without Him, life would be a mess. But, with Him, even hard things can become satisfying and joyful.
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