Life as usual

It's been a while since I updated but there's just not a lot going on. I am so jealous of all you who have kids to write about because kids stories are much better than teacher stories. Oh well . . . .

Dave started his first on-line Spanish class this semester. He has to take 4 all together and the ones taught on campus are ridiculously hard so he decided to do them on-line. It's pretty frustrating for him because it isn't something he's interested in at all but it's required for a BA. I hope he finds his groove in the on-line class so it won't be such a headache for him.

This weekend Dave's dad was finally able to bring us the entertainment center Dave built so we moved that in and got the old beast out (with some much needed help from Ben). I really like it. It's much smaller and fits our living room nicely. We now need to get another small storage something to get some now displaced knick-knacks hidden away.



As for me it's life as usual. We are doing some math testing for the first half of today. Our math teachers will take the data from this test to see how we think our kids will do on the year end state tests and then figure out who they need to target for tutorials in order for them to pass.

While nothing can be as bad as my first year teaching, I'm finding this to be one of my most stressful years. 25 of my 131 students are Special Education students with varying ranges of disabilities. In one class alone 15 of the 23 have accommodations and both of these numbers do not include ELL (English Language Learners) or dyslexic students. The paperwork and ARD meetings are endless and anyone who has taught Special Education students knows that many of them have also developed behavior issues which take up more of my time and energy. I feel unqualified to serve their needs (or even to keep all of the needs straight) in a class that still has others without disability who deserve my time too. Even with a co-teacher there's just not enough teacher to go around and it makes me sad for them.

In all of this stress I am grateful for caring family, friends and especially my husband. Dave has been so sweet in picking up the slack I'm leaving at home. He has taken to making dinner most nights which helps me out a lot. At work I hear a lot of people discussing the relationships with their spouses and I realize how lucky I am to have a husband who treats me with love and respect. He is truly my partner in life and makes my life better for being a part of it. I love him so very much and could not do it without him. Love ya babe!