Oh, Happy Day!

Did you ever wake up in the morning and just ‘know’ it was going to be a great day? I haven’t but today did turn out to be one of the highlights of my teaching career.

We (students and I) are used to the “learning walks” that are taken by the administrative team and today was no different. The goal of today’s lesson was to have students understand the issues being discussed @ the Constitutional Convention. Students were working with a partner to read and summarize the issues such as the Great Compromise and the 3/5 Compromise. They know that if a higher-up asks them what they are doing, they had better be able to explain the objective. I noticed that FL had been coming in and out of my room for at least 10 minutes which is about 9 minutes longer than he normally stays. He seemed interested in the activity and was explaining stuff to the class. A couple of minutes later, one of my students is pointing behind her to indicate visitors. Along with FL was the head honcho, big kahuna, a.k.a. the District Superintendent. Guess this was a surprise visit ~ we had no idea he was coming. I told the class that they (FL & Top Dog) were invisible and I carried on with instruction. That statement let the student know not to be nervous and to continue on with their work. Class was soon over and TD stayed in the hallway to chat with students. FL then introduced Ms. Perky and informed him that she was a brand new teacher. After that intro, TD turns to me and asked my name. The one day I DIDN’T wear my badge! After repeating my name, he said, “You are an outstanding teacher!” in the presence of FL no less.

Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather. Compliments from higher up are scarcer than hens’ teeth. He continued to tell me that he is a former SS teacher and he admired the way I was able to get the students to participate on a higher level. He mentioned that he didn’t have the History Alive! Curriculum when he was teaching. TD then said, “Thank you for what you do for our children” and that was the last I saw of him. I believe I floated for the rest of the day ~ figuratively, of course. A modicum of praise every once in a blue moon works wonders for me.

Today’s visit helped ease my frustration with the a/c system in our wing. It hasn’t functioned correctly since 10-19 when there was a power surge and screwed things up. My room has averaged 90 degrees for the last 7 days and everyday I reported the problem. I finally wrote an email to FL describing the sauna and could he intervene on our behalf. He was told on Monday that they would ‘try’ to be out on Tuesday but they had one technician for 30 schools. What is wrong with this picture? I digress. Yesterday, Tuesday, I walked into Hades otherwise know as my room with a temperature of 95. I proceeded to open windows to alleviate the heat. The last window I opened proceeded to drop back down on my hands. I have two severely bruised and swollen fingers. There were tears in my eyes ~ not because of the pain which was a doozy but tears of frustration ‘cuz I could not say what was on my mind! Remember, I am in the building and the walls have ears. The technicians showed up around 2:30 and were still there when I left @ 4:10. They told me that my thermostat was bad and they replaced it. There were some other problems but the a/c jargon I didn’t quite comprehend. All I remember is them telling me was that my room was registering a temperature of six (6) degrees hence the heat wave. Talk about modern technology! Bah, humbug.

Time to say adios to October ~ at least it ends on a positive note!


~butterfly angel~