Day 29!

To be honest, today was really rather awful. I just want my students to listen and realize they need to start writing advanced literary essays which means formal language and quotes. There was just a lot of disrespect and trying to push responsibility away.

Don't get me wrong, I had some students working really hard, even ones that normally don't, but it was the group in one class and the student after school that threw my day. I've been upset, I've felt like I wasn't any good, and I have been anxious. I have almost never been mad until today. You want to know how to write essays for the SATs? LISTEN. They want junior level, formal essays like we are doing. Also, the website practice is bought by the state for you. You want to argue that practice is summative? Please try to define a core of my degree. Just do your work on time and you won't fail. It's not complicated. If you put the effort into work that you put into complaining you would have an A.

And you know what? I WANT YOU TO BE ABLE TO GET AN A.

That just kind of sucked the wind out of my sails and tonight's hockey game is also stressful. So, what made me happy? This article titled "30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself," that my brother's roommate posted. Like 90% of it is my life.

 "Stop acting like everything is fine, when it isn't" and "Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others" were my favorite.

I always feel like I have to constantly justify myself, especially at work. And you know what? I don't. My room, my rules, now sit down and listen. If you listen and are nice, I will bend over backwards to do anything to help you at any time. I will stay after, I will read a hundred drafts, I'll read paragraphs on Sunday night for an essay due Monday in another class. I will do anything if you are simply nice. I also need to not say things are good if they aren't. Change isn't going to happen if I act like it's peachy. So I am going to keep calm and carry on. It's helping some get better, now everyone else can catch on.

'Cause let me tell you, ain't nothing I love more than getting to tell a student who has always struggled, "That's perfect, a really good idea!" Their look and "really?!" makes even my bad days a little bit better. [That story happened today, too, it was adorable.]