Oh What a February!
I am so thankful that the end of February is just a few days away. I am NOT anxious about daylight savings time at all, but this has been one heck of a month. Because of this, I am going to ramble for a little while.
One of my favorite bloggers, Love Teach, talks about the Dark Evil Vortex of Late September, October, and November. I think one needs to be created for the month of February. It is the shortest month of the year, but it seems to drag on and on and on and on and on....you get the point.
First off I have to use the words of a very smart man that I work with: "There are two kinds of people in this world: problem makers and problem solvers." I have seen this over and over this month as I have been called upon to solve problems others have created or experienced.
Do you ever have days when you feel like adults are needier than the kids or have taken on the behaviors of the age group you work with? I do, and I think there have been days this month where I have been needier and more teenage than my students. I guess that is why I teach high school...to be a perpetual high school student. I believe being able to laugh at myself is healthy.
We had a fun professional development day this month. We had a massive potluck lunch that included all the staff district wide. I wish I have a picture of the food table...it was never-ending. We then had a scavenger hunt type activity that we did around the building. There were some great videos and pictures. It was nice to spend some time together with other staff and not have to worry about our jobs; we just enjoyed each other's company. This is my amazing scavenger hunt team; I got to take the picture.
.JPG)
We also have a contract offer get voted down this month, so that brings on some added stress. I hope we can band together and move forward. I think too often people get so focused on the 'in the moment' things that we don't always remember that we need to look long term.
Thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, an anonymous donor, and Donors Choose I got a great professional development kit of items this month. Not only did this include the Samsung Chromebook 2 that I am typing this on, but it also included some AMAZING books that I added to my stacks of teacher books. Thanks to AJ Juliani I now have a plan to read 40 books this year!
I started tonight with Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess. I think it might be a game-changer book for me. I did as AJ suggested and read the first 25 pages, and like he said, I found myself going farther than that. I am excited to put this on my "What I am Reading" sign that we now all have outside our classroom doors. I have up on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
I am surviving this month by shutting myself in my room with my students as much as possible and enjoying them, their lives, and their experiences.
I am also surviving on massive amounts of hot chocolate with and without butterscotch schnapps.
I am looking forward to spring and some warmer temperatures. My birthday is in March, and although I am over the age where birthday celebrations are necessary, it does bring a good reason to CELEBRATE all month. I also am excited about a trip to Chicago with my mom and my girls for spring break.
Let's share some advice to survive the longest short month of the year!
How do you deal with the problem-makers in your life?
What helps you survive the stretch of February?
What are you looking forward to as soon as March rolls around?
