Today is Heavy Heart Day! What in the world does that mean? Well...Tomorrow marks WEEK TWO in Duval County, although I never really stopped working for the district all summer which is a FIRST for me! Heavy Heart Day is a dash of hyperbole (it probably weighs the same, LOL), a dash of a melancholic tone, and a big dash of realism because my 2 daily enalaprils (for blood pressure) and my 1 daily actenol (heart palps) don't seem to be cutting it anymore. My emotional state is affecting my physical state. The dash of hyperbole IS my reality, and my heart seems to be dragging down to the soles of my feet! Wow! Aren't you glad you signed on to my post today! So, check out my picture. and that's me to the right looking all transparent, while still remarkably cute! Here I am in Coconut Grove in South Florida, a wonderful little eccletic shopping/eating/drinking district....and they have Peacock Park where all the residents decorate peacocks! How cute is that! The poster says WE DON'T SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE, WE SEE THEM AS WE ARE. So, when trying to analyze this little "kid art" picture, I'm thinking the BIG flower represents the BIG PICTURE, and the LITTLE insignificant droopy flower (LF - little flower) is me wondering where do I fit in to the grand scheme of things....I suspect that LF just hasn't been able to establish her place in the garden of education, so to speak, and LF is suffering! Excuse my French, but Week One has been a bitch! My new role as Reading Coach (which I started late January of last year) is way different this year. For one thing, I started with the new school year, so I won't have to hear the "you're new. we have a plan, so just do what we tell you." For the five months of last year, I was a glorified admin type and a bobble head...I was looking forward to this year to pioneer some new things with the reading department and to use my expertise, because in theory, that's why they brought me on board! I don't think that's gonna be the case. I mentioned the poisonous snake in my last post and she's back! English background? NO! Reading endorsement? NO! Previous high school teaching experience? NO! More than five years experience in education? NO! Principal Pet? Absolutely! So, we have already had a battle of wills over a Reading Testing Schedule and it looks like she won! What's upsetting is it shouldn't be a win/lose situation since in theory we are all on the same team...However, apparently she got in a tiff with one of my reading teachers OFF CAMPUS and has brought in ON CAMPUS telling me that she doesn't care about my reading teachers AT ALL...isn't that a grown up attitude? (The good news is that I'm teaching a college class again this semester, ENC 1102, and I've already decided to worm my way into a full time gig in that capacity. That's my BIG FLOWER!)...So, back to school tomorrow for a week of testing and defending myself....It seems that education has less and less to do with making sense and being student centered and more and more to do with endless testing, data tattoos, and disgruntled people in charge! I'm going to church now then hopefully I'll feel better and get some great encouragement....Regardless, on Friday, THIS Friday, Mr. Man and I will be together for 5 days in Gainesville and St. Augustine....
