Monday finally brings the magic number of nine. Single digits will be left of this school year. It always goes by so fast. Just seems like yesterday that my students were calling me Mr. Stover, and not turning their backs on me, and so on. The good old days.
I get to this time of year and I can’t breathe through my nose. My body still hurts in places where it will not hurt in 10 days. My mind swims with people and ideas about school, at home and in bed. This usually goes away in 10 days, but it’s never been as bad as this year. I don’t believe in medication, but when schedules and programs aren’t resolved with single digits left, I may need to seek it. Yeah, I know. You would have thought, after 18 years at the same school, that I could deal better. When things aren’t resolved, it’s tough.
I always grade myself at the end of the year, too. I don’t think I’ve ever given myself a good grade, despite my stellar attendance. I am pleased what I was able to do with APN (seniors) this year. They are nice kids and I wish them the best. My sophomores (honors) are the same as any year. They’re still young. My regular sophomores teach me something daily. Most of the things they teach me are about myself, about our school, and not necessarily about them. They don’t understand school yet, and I wish I could have done a better job in helping them navigate it.
I wish for a lot of things. I always think that I could solve every education problem really easily and, in theory, I could. But theory usually addresses the past–stock pickers and sports bettors never lose money in the past–and the present always brings change. This year, some of the changes threw me for a loop. My usual zigs did not meet the changing zags.
But it is all the past. Nine days is the present. https://youtu.be/DGFvlnCq-ts