a teacher's report card

i have my observation tomorrow.

for those of you who are not teachers, you must still know what i am speaking of.

think back. you were in elementary school. it was the day that your teacher dressed up and wore red lipstick with a big smile. she had on her special school stuff necklace laced with wooden school houses, apples, ABCs and 123s. it laid nicely on top of her red shirt under her denim jumper. she planned an outrageous lesson and was really nice all morning. that is, until her principal came in.

the principal sits in a chair, and watches...everything. she makes notes about everything. the teacher, the students, the lesson components, technology?, redirection, relativity, understanding, whole group tasks, individual tasks, a product that shows students comprehension, a well behaved class and a relaxed teacher.

fun.

this is me tomorrow. without the fancy getup, of course.

i'm not really that nervous about it. but it does make you wonder what you'll do if your autistic kid breaks into hysterics and you (for really, the first time) can't calm her down. or, what you'll do if the boy who pulls down his pants and hits people does something else that he should be sent to the office for.

oh well. i'll get through it. i always do. and if my kids act crazy, well...that's just part of the job.