Where there's a will . . .

we'll find a way. And we did.

I'm all for caution, especially since I spent entirely too many years as Lab Safety Nazi. However, my department chair spazzed out a bit when K & I wanted to do flame tests with our kids. Never mind the fact that our district doesn't allow fire in classrooms. We, quite frankly, felt the learning opportunity was worth the risk. We approached the dept. chair to ask about how to make salt solutions properly, before we started mixing them ourselves. She was very little help, so we lit our own propane tank & started throwing chemicals into the flames to check the colors. (Okay, so we did exercise proper precautions, but . . . I can't say I was entirely secure in the results of our experimentation.)

Anyhoo . . . it was worth the risk. We figured it out, and today I tried to capitalize on the "wow" factor in class ~ dimming the lights, closing the blinds, wearing safety goggles (for the first time this year, which, admittedly, is a poor example of safety). The kids totally loved it. Sometimes I get weary of teaching the same lesson 4 times a day, but today was bearable. I never tire of the look of wonder on their faces, or of hearing, "oooooh! that's bangin'!" But what really makes me smile is when I hear, "Miss M, can we do that again?" or, even more heart-warming, "Miss M, what are we doing tomorrow?"

It's hard to believe I'm even writing this, considering I almost quit last Friday. I've had thoughts of quitting before, but I never came this close to walking away completely. I think the voice of reason that kept me employed was the realization that I was still recovering from influenza, and therefore had an extremely low tolerance for any disrespect, misbehavior, and other typical adolescent tendencies.

I suppose now is an appropriate time to record the lessons I learned from 3 days of sick leave last week:

• Get a flu shot next year
• Do not expect sub to take attendance, follow lesson plans, or maintain any semblance of order in classroom
• No matter how much I think I feel like coming back to work, I should stay home another day (or 2) & sleep, without guilt.
• Upon returning to work, implement simple lesson plans with minimal teacher input, even if it negates everything I learned in grad school.

I can now happily end on a positive note, since U2 just won another Grammy. (Sorry, Johnny Buckland)