When Negative Nellie Comes to Call....

Do you ever get cranky? I do. Last night, I started out for the hospital at 3:45. I had to pick up DS 3 from school at 4:15. We got gas and were on the road by 4:45. This is a trip that normally takes only an hour. Last night it took an hour and forty-five minutes! We finally arrived at the hospital after CRAWLING on the Interstate for the last 45 minutes of our trip.

When we got to the hospital, Dad was tired. He'd had several visitors throughout the day and probably hadn't rested as he should. It was evident that he needed to rest and having us there was NOT going to help him accomplish this. SOOO...15 minutes after arriving, my brothers, SIL, DSs 3 and 4, and I left.

When I got back in the car, I called DH (who's been out of town since Sunday) to remind him about something he needed to do. He responded and I found myself escalating and snapping at him. Poor man. He hasn't even been home and he was on the receiving end of MY "crabby patty".

We went to dinner. I suddenly realized just how tired I was. It came over in a wave. DS 4 (who was also tired) was also crabby and I snapped at him on the way home.

This morning I woke up and promised myself I'd settle down. I didn't. DS 1 didn't do something the way I wanted it done--and I found my "Negative Nellie" resurfacing.

When I arrived at work, my boss called me on the Walkie Talkie to see if I could meet with him this morning. Of course, we ALL know that the RIGHT answer is "OF COURSE I can!" I must admit my "cloud" made me jump to all kinds of negative conclusions about WHAT he wanted. I don't know why. I had no reason to think this meeting was going to be negative...I think I just projected my attitude on the prospect of this meeting. It turned out to be very positive. Shame on me!!

Then, this afternoon I had a conversation with my brother Dan and I said, "I hope I wasn't too crabby last night." I said, "I don't want to be that way." He said, "You can blog about how you're learning not to be negative."

Here's my blog...It's a lesson I'm going to learn...one way or another!! Thanks, Dan, for the reminder. :-)

On a POSITIVE note: DS 3 fixed my TT from yesterday and made the two colors match. Isn't he the greatest????

I just finished...

Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas Sparks and Micah Sparks. What an AMAZING and challenging story!! I found myself thinking about my own "growing up" years and my relationships with my brothers and my parents. While I could certainly connect with much of Sparks' experiences, some were totally foreign to me. What wasn't foreign, however, is that deep sense of family. The interconnectedness of those with whom you shared your childhood. Those memories will forever be a part of who I am as an adult. In many ways it's the people, the experiences, and the memories that define who we become....

I am thankful I read this book. Now, I just have one question:

Greg or Dan would you like to take a three week trip around the world together???? :-)

Rigor, Relevance and Professionalism

My brother sent an email to let me know that I spelled "relevant" wrong in my blog about my dh on 8/15. He was right...and now it is fixed...along with the word "meaningful" which he didn't catch in his brief editing this afternoon.

As I fixed the word "relevant" I thought of how much I have been hearing it lately. Everytime I have a education conversation it seems that it comes up coupled with the word "rigor". This seems to be the new mantra in education. It requires that all teachers strive to make their instructional delivery both rigorous and relevant for all students.

This week in a conversation with a frustrated teacher, she noted that she didn't think she was being treated as a professional. She feels she is being asked to write down "every breath she is going to take" in her lesson plans. I reflected on this for a moment and tried to help her see that it is a new day in education.

I am now required to account for every hour in my day to the state department of education each week. I have not once thought that this meant I was not a professional. In fact, in many ways, it feels the opposite. They are valuing reading teachers right now and they want to make sure that our jobs help bring this rigor and relevance to the schools in which we work.

When we ask a teacher to document their instructional delivery and be accountable to it, I think kids win. In my own informal observations, it is often those that are mediocre at best who yell the loudest about this. Is accountability wrong? I don't think so. Will rigor and relevance happen without it? In most cases, no.

I guess it comes down to this----in my opinion:

accountability + rigor + relevance = professionalism