Fail

Today I failed in preparedness. I THOUGHT I was prepared, but I guess you learn something new every day.

My day started off with a double period of homeroom class followed by a single period the other 7th grade class, during which I was to be observed by the science department chairperson. I had a great lesson, which I sent her yesterday, that involved a few short video clips describing the needs of all living things.

I arrived at school extra early today, because I had a meeting with my mentor, and I needed to set up the microscopes for my homeroom class and to make sure everything is prepared for my observation. I turn on the computer, open the PowerPoint, click the link to the videos, and BAM. Website server error. No access to the videos.

No! No! No! I scoured the internet for another way to access them, and then started looking for alternatives. I found something close, but it was a tangentially related 25 minute video, not three perfect 5 minute videos.

At this point, it is a few minutes after I'm supposed to meet my mentor, and I run downstairs to the music room. She begins to comment on my tardiness...and I burst into tears. I think that I have officially presented myself to her as the kind of person who cries rather than takes criticism. I'm learning from my students. It doesn't help that I see her on Friday mornings, the morning of my busiest class day and at the end of the week. She hands me an Oreo and sends me back upstairs to call the science chair. I left a message and an email, and we agreed to reschedule. I need to be better prepared next time. Backups of lessons. I barely have time to make lessons in the first place! I need to spend some time working on a couple of backup lessons, though, for any reason.

And, surprisingly, my homeroom class was okay. They were great during breakfast, and slowly got fidgety over the course of two periods, but they LOVED the microscopes. Even the toughest kids. They thought the cells were cool/gross/interesting. That is why I do this job.

I could finish a description of my day, but that is where I want to leave it. Now I'm off to my massage appointment!