She lives....

My sincere apologies to the fans of "Drawing on the Ceiling". It appears my long absence from the blogging scene has caused concern among many. Please accept my deep regret for this oversight.

Life as a teacher is NOT easy. I'm sure many out there can testify. It's a never-ending cycle of lesson planning, assigning, and grading. The routine can get tedious and I'm afraid my creativity runs short.

I've taught before, you know. I taught two years in China and last year at Cookson. I'm more than familiar with Bloom's Taxonomy and lesson objectives and classroom standards. The difference now is the presence of parents. Never before have I had to worry about the parents. I've never had parent/teacher conferences or notes asking me to adjust my testing for their child's learning disability or calls to the principal over a classroom procedure. It takes some getting used to. And now each time I sit down to write a lesson plan I have to not only balance the needs of my students but consider the parental response. It's a vulnerable feeling, the molding of the minds of other people's children.

The days that a student draws me a picture or tells me I am the best artist they have ever known or just stops me in the hallway to give me a hug (elementary students not my high schoolers), I know that all the paperwork is worthwhile. The kids are getting used to me, telling me I have more rules then any of their other teachers (this is because I make them write in pen and use cursive) but they know what to do in my classes. Each day gets a little easier and I've come to the point where I can go home and not feel like a mac-truck ran me over. I count that as a blessing.

So, the next time you look up my blog and see I have neglected my posts, just picture me hunched over a stack of English tests or searching my resources for the perfect art project or changing out bulletin boards in my classroom and you'll know that you are up to date on my life.