Days 43 and 44: I will survive, I will survive...
Everyone knows that Gloria Gaynor classic... I can't get it out of my head. It happens to be exactly how I feel.Yesterday was somewhat of a hellish day - after 7 teaching periods (which is all day with only a lunch break), I sat down in the teacher's lounge and attacked piles of correction non stop from 3:30PM until 7:20PM, and then I headed down for the both dreaded and anticipated evening where the parents come around to see what we look like.
The evening went well in general - I have to admit that when the parents of a trouble-maker sits down in front of you and asks about her daughter's behavior in class, I was just a big wuss and polished the truth so that no one's feelings would get hurt.
This translates into the following comments to describe less than perfect pupils:
"Your daughter has great oral communication skills. She puts them to use nonstop with the girl to her left."
"Your daughter is one of my most active students. I wish I were teaching Phys.Ed."
"You must remember that the only thing required to succeed in BOTH classes I teach your daughter is some studying prior to a test. Oh, and concentrating during class has worked out well for some of the better students."
"Your daughter participates very well - in fact, I often have trouble getting a word in edgewise!"
All parents were very nice - so nice in fact that despite limiting the time with each parent to 5-10 minutes, I was the last teacher to leave at 10:30PM. I only met the parents of 30 students (out of 102), but the logistics of meeting all these parents in one night, for 2 subjects, are pretty much impossible. It's a blessing more didn't line up in front of my desk...
Today went well, the girls did not really asked about what happened the night before.
It's probably better that way... What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
