Back to it

“I should have taken an extra day off to help transition,” I told Kristie.

Of course, I got no sympathy from her since she only has a fraction of the time off I do over the year.

I was spoiled over break. Kenzie was a lot of work, but whenever I got worn down (usually just before Kristie got home for lunch and after work) with Kenzie screaming, I just held her close and reminded myself how blessed I am with such a beautiful and healthy little girl.

But I am blessed too to have this job. I couldn’t wait to get back to work today.

Well, I could since I didn’t get nearly enough correcting done and that I was running around like a madman trying to execute lesson plans and get work returned to students.

****

KoKo is now getting seven teeth pulled out. Poor kid. Kristie, though, made the right decision. Does she miss practice or school?

There was no question; KoKo’s appointment was made for as late in the day as possible.

Given the amount of time my first hour students have missed, I wish others would put a greater emphasis on attending school.

I’ve never had a class miss so much time. I do know, though, that attendance has really taken a back seat lately around here. That might be a reflection of our attitudes as a staff here, students, parents, or society. I’m not sure.

But just wait until crunch time in two weeks. Then the excuses will poor in. But will the late work? We’ll see.

I’m leaning toward doing what a former social studies teacher used to do, participation points. Now, I do give students these, but I’m pretty lenient for excused absences. However, our former social studies teacher only awarded participation points if students were present – regardless of the excuse.

This makes a great deal of sense to me.

Now, the former teacher used to remind parents, when they were angry at their child’s lowered grade, that in order to earn participation points, one must participate. In order to participate, one must attend.

That seems to be lost around here.

What job (or spot on a team) would these same students be able to keep 10 years down the road when then miss up to 20% of work time? But that’s the point: this is just school and that would be work (or athletics). Backwards, isn’t it?