Monday, October 29, 2007

Odds and Ends


I wanted to post this picture yesterday, but experienced technical difficulties. So here are Ducky and sweetE on our trek.

I survived my observation today. As far as I know. I haven't heard anything yet. Observations are so unnerving. My first principal didn't like me (hated me in fact), so he found every opportunity to find fault. I have been scarred for life. He actually observed me on my first day teaching. After I was hired three weeks into the school year. And I had never taught a 90 minute block before. And I had never taught high school before. What was he thinking?

My last principal (who restored my faith in administration and myself) walked in about 20 minutes after my observation. He wanted to see how I was surviving fifth grade. Nothing against my new principal, but I wish he had waited a year to retire. Let me get settled in my new position before proving myself to someone new. We joked that he was nuts for taking a substituting job for kindergarten.

SweetP swam all the way across the pool tonight. Yahoo! SweetE actually did nose in and bubbles. Yahoo! Such cute little swimmers.

Very tired, gotta get some sleep.

5 comments:

Suzie Petunia said...

Ok, a couple things. It was fun seeing you at the Trunk or Treat. I don't think I had met your son before. Had I? By-the-way, he wasn't the only one overwhelmed by the sheer number of kids.

I can't believe I've never been to the refuge either. Why not? I should take Oscar while the other kids are at school. He'd like that. Wanna go?

I have the worst story about being observed. Well, the observation wasn't so bad. It was the comments. I was being observed while I was an intern - so it was my own classroom. I was being observed by one of my college professors. I introduced him to the class as Mr. K. On my observation form he said, "I am DR. K., NOT (bold and underlined) MR. K!!!" Oh, the ego! What the hell does that have to do with how good or bad of a job I was doing?

laurie said...

very sweet picture.

i remember my teachers getting observed when i was in grade school--that is, i remember the principal coming in and standing in the back with his arms folded, and the teacher getting a litlte nervous.

but i always thought it was us kids who were under surveillance, not the teacher.

you know kids--everything is always all about them.

by the way, what is "trunk or treat"? is it different from "trick or treat"? what's the trunk part? if you don't get a treat you get to stuff somebody in a trunk?

ped crossing said...

Trunk or treat is trick or treating in a parking lot. Instead of going up to houses, you walk around the parking lot to each of the cars. There is a person posted at the trunk handing out candy.

Some teachers tell the kids they are being observed and bribe them to be good. I generally go with the let them wonder who the principal is watching. My math group is pretty good, but they are getting the Halloween sillies.

Suzie, how about Friday?

Susan said...

The trunk or treat we have participated in, at a school carnival, is in the parking lot and each car decorates their trunk for Halloween. One year my GS troop were pirates and made a jail out of the back of a mini-van. We have also used a shade structure instead of a trunk and decorated for different themes. Someone hands out candy, or sometimes there is a set up where the kids have to find candy in the decorations. It is a LOT of fun.

ped crossing said...

Thanks, two cents. Your description is much better than mine. Tonight, trick or treating. The old fashioned way!