week 3--finito

I can summarize the third week in one phrase: I slept for 12 hours last night. In one short week we wrapped up our courses, took the kids on an all-day field trip, practiced and then performed our closing celebration, set up displays, cleaned classrooms and finally packed it all away. I will definitely miss some of my adorable kiddlies but I will not miss the fighting, defiance or disinterest. Luckily, those three issues were limited to a few kids and the majority made the program worth coming to each day.

Am I looking forward to going back to work? Hmm, well, yes and no. I'm looking forward to a slower pace for a bit (although I do have a class on Monday afternoon) but I'm not psyched about reentering the world of li-berry politics.

week 2

My summer program experience is 2/3 finished. The week ends with a half day of presentations, performances and fun, with rehearsals the day before, so really there's less than a full week of classes ahead. I'm working on my scholars' evaluations. I have 14...15? to do. A few were easy, some weren't too tough and a few I haven't started on because, well, I'm struggling to find something positive to say about those kids.

Overall the experience has made me very happy but reluctant to return to "work". I've liked being an academic librarian for the past 5 years but I'm uncertain that I could do it for another 5.

Partway through last week, one of the teachers had to leave. I hope to arrive at work tomorrow to discover she's back, but realistically she'll be out for the remainder of the program. I took over one of her courses, one on archaeology and anthropology. The kids seemed to accept me with no concerns but it's tough to step in when you're not 100% what is going on and how much of the curriculum you can accomplish in the remaining time. Still, it's my goal to make sure the last few days are filled with fun and excitement as the two groups of students bury their "artifacts", dig each other's up, and posit what the artifacts represent in the overall culture. In one of my other classes we're dissecting a pig uterus and fetal pigs. I'm not sure which I'm more excited about!

end of week one

So I have survived one week of being a teacher at a summer program for smartypants kids. Yay for me! It was not 100% successful, but that would be boring, right? My snakes and dissection classes are going well. My co-teachers have complimented me on my ability to keep 34 kids on task while dissecting earthworms and crayfish. One of my other classes has been a disappointment. The kids are disinterested and not making much of an effort. I'm not doing a great job of motivating them or helping them explore, I think partly because when I offer an idea they don't give me much in return. They don't offer their own thoughts. This class is all about learning to be great, work with others, not be obnoxious, fit in with others without sacrificing individuality. There are lots of great topics but we can barely get to them because some of the kids are fighting me the whole way. I'm going to try some other tactics this week and see if things improve. Overall, I am getting a lot out of this experience. The other teachers have accepted me and my fellow newbies with open arms and when I ask for support (one of the rules of the program for students and teachers alike), they are forthcoming with all kinds of "hey, that happened to me too" remarks as well as suggestions for different approaches. One thing I realized almost immediately was that I came to this program for a reason I didn't even suspect, but that is the subject for a later post.

might be a while

Well, kids, I'm heading off to in-service tomorrow, Thursday & Friday, then I'll be teaching June 11-29. During that time I won't have the same connectivity I enjoy here in li-berry land, so expect fewer posts.

While I'm away, I will not miss all of the day to day work craziness. Sometimes I feel as if I work with a bunch of middle schoolers and it will be nice to be around real children for a few weeks. If nothing else, they're refreshingly honest. I will miss seeing my team and my other work friends but I hope to come back with new energy and new friends.

mondays

I know it's late in the day and I'm just now getting around to writing, but I've been busy, y'all. I had back-to-back stuffs to do and right now I am getting a few moments to myself. I had a tour, then a meeting, then a brownbag lunch, then a haircut, and finally another meeting. Oh, and somewhere in there I ran over and looked at my approval books.

I had my hairdresser cut my hair short. SHORT! I will not have time for a haircut in the foreseeable future and it was already getting curly and sticky outy and weird.

pain

Three hours at the dentist is too many. About two too many. Ninety two books ordered over the course of two days is too many. I went home with aching wrists from simultaneously surfing Barnes & Noble and Amazon for 5 hours. However, I got my tooth fixed and my bite assessed and I spent most of the money I was given to use on buying books to support my summer program and it's over.

Too bad my mouth and wrists are still hurting.