Good Things

I went back to school yesterday and got some good news and some bad news. I'll skip the bad news, as I am trying to remain positive.

Good Thing 1: The teacher next door came to talk to me about how my classes had behaved while I was gone; she is far more reliable than most substitutes, who sometimes seem scared to report that students misbehave.

My first period class--my freshman reading class of eight--is my favorite, for obvious reasons. TND told me the sub had had trouble finding my lesson plans, and she didn't know what to tell the kids to do. TND asked, "Are they working?" The sub replied in the affirmative. TND said, "Then don't tell them anything."

Sure enough, the students had lots of work to show me, and when I had to give them lots more work in return (to make up for lost days), they just buckled down and set to. LOVE THEM!

Good Thing 2: We had parent-teacher conferences last night; three parents came to speak with me. One mother came in looking really worried, but then she introduced herself as the mother of one of my favorite students; maybe the worry is her default look. The kid is SO good: he always volunteers for things, he does his homework almost consistently, and he is just sooo nice. That is one good kid right there.

--side note--
When we were reading "The Most Dangerous Game," I asked the class, "Does anybody know how big a .22 is?" I was looking for an answer like, "It's small," but I forgot where I live for a second. This child practically gave me a dissertation: "Well, it depends on what KIND of .22; if you have a blahblah rifle you could be using ..." Of course I had no idea what he was talking about, but I let him finish his speech and thanked him before I said, "It's small, right?"
--end--

The mom told me with many adjectives that she LOVES the blog I've set up for the class, that she thinks it's so important for the kids to incorporate technology into their schoolwork, that she checks with her son every night to see if he's done his work, and that she's so glad I've made an effort to keep up with "the real world" in terms of the life skills I'm teaching.
It's nice to know that my ideas and teaching strategies are appreciated (by someone other than me), so I thanked her kindly. She, like her son, is now one of my favorites.

Today I slept on the couch and washed the sheets. I guess that is also a Good Thing.