I started a heart-wrenching blog on Wednesday. I lost service. I lost my blog. I couldn't find it anywhere. Usually, even if I lose service, it has automatically saved itself at some point, so not all is lost. Not the case. It just disappeared.
Today when logging on, I accidentally signed into another blog I'm a member of. It's a recipe blog with many contributors. There in the list of unpublished blogs, was my blog. Since, however, I cannot cut and paste, it is forever lost.
You are happy for this. Take a moment and rejoice, for this blog was not a cheery one!
Anything that could go wrong on Wednesday did. I had been gone for an entire week, so the kids had magically forgotten my rules. A first grader threw up on herself and stayed lying in her own mellow-yellow-like vomit until she stopped, three cycles later. In both of my first grade classes, a boy acted as if he were in charge, rolling around on the floor, or leaving at his own will. No technique I tried worked...
Add to that that the neighboring teacher was letting her kids leave her classroom to do whatever they pleased, meaning I had little monkeys climbing my windows, inquisitive souls walking in and hanging out in our room, and my own students telling me that there were students outside on the windows and inside the room; thank you captains obvious.
I found myself battling in my head what was the right thing to do. I found myself wondering why it mattered I was there. If I am consistent and into discipline, but no one else is, what does it matter? What is the point? What are they learning?
As is typical of a day like this, Thursday was great. I started second grade with hangman and it was the hugest hit of my Mexican teaching career. 50 minutes was actually 50 minutes and didn't seem to drag. Not everyone participated, mind you, but they were with me.
Today was a bit back to the old. At the end of recreo, the principal needed Martha (1st grade) to help him with something. She often fills an administrative role, too because she is a friend of the principal's. He asked if I could go to her room and cover it. Nice. Never mind that I have 4th and 5th grade today. Or that I won't be there next Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, therefore not seeing 4th and 5th grade for two weeks! Sure, I'll go.
I went and it was crazy being the end of the day for first graders. But I survived. Apparently that's what it's about here.
Survival.
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