Long Time Gone

Sorry for the break in updates, folks. I had big intentions of writing on Tuesday night, but Blogger was down and I wasn't feeling up to writing in a Word document and re-pasting things here later.

Let's do this by the numbers:

9: Weeks of student teaching I've completed so far.
6: Weeks of student teaching I have left.
4: Weeks during which I will be actually teaching; the last week, I'm back to observing.
2: Days next week which are business as usual aka class (Monday & Tuesday).
2: Days next week which are devoted to evaluations, aka the report card system designed with the express purpose of making teachers crazy. (Wednesday & Thursday).
1: Day next week that I don't to go to school (Friday), giving me one
3: Day weekend. And I don't have a Halloween costume. Yet.
45%: Of students seem to be failing my classes, even though I'm grading on a HUGE curve and giving them ample opportunity to make up late work. I kind of want to cry.
1: Big freakout that I had on Wednesday, thinking I might never get hired anywhere, because postings for the 2010-2011 school year aren't really happening yet.
1: Big compliment that I got from my principal today, when he asked me how things were going and I told him I love my school and he told me that they would hire me.
2: Hours at the end of the day that I spent wondering if I can parlay this compliment into a part-time job until the end of the school year. I'd love to stay with my kids, and I'd love to build my resume. Everyone wins!
3: Episodes of 'Mad Men' that I watched while making an interminable stack of very boring flash cards for the APT.
22: Days until I take the APT. Aside from the flashcard-making...I haven't studied.
1: Hot stone massage that I'm getting tomorrow, having finally scheduled my birthday present from my husband.
1: Very big reason to be excited--my final grad school class is available with an online option. Hooray for a potential lack of midwinter nighttime commutes on the train! Hooray for completing my Master's in a very 21st-century way!
3: Class periods next week when I will allow students to make up missing assignments in attempt to get their grades from Fs to Ds.
1: Long Tuesday night when I grade all those papers and re-do the curves to make sure all my information is accurate and up-to-date for evaluations.
1: Very endearing student who got very, VERY happy when I informed him today that not only is he doing well--he's got the best grade in his class.
5: Cups of Dannon Light&Fit yogurt that I go through every week, eating breakfast at school.
25: Minutes I stood outside in the rain this morning, because I was
5: Minutes early, and the custodian was
20: Minutes late.
25ish: Minutes I stood under the hand dryer in the womens' bathroom in attempt to dry off my jeans, so that I wouldn't have to wear wet pants all day.
24.5: Minutes of this process that I felt like a total creep and hoped nobody would come into the bathroom and see me drinking coffee with my left thigh held under the hot air.


I think that's all for now. I actually have a lot on my mind worth mentioning regarding this evaluations process, but it's Friday night and I'm really tired and I'll write about it tomorrow after I use a gift certificate to have somebody rub my body with hot stones for an hour (gratuity included!).