All I can say is that this has been a tough year.
Tough year at work.
Tough year combining work with grad school with parenting with adjusting to changes in health and thinking.
I recently completed my grad classes in Information Media until next fall. Super grades! I feel pleased, and more knowledgeable. And even a bit more confident should I be blessed with a job interview in the near future.
Now to get through the rest of the school year. Being a special education teacher is like having 10 or more major assignments all due around the same time. It's people forgetting that when we became teachers, the number one reason was to help and work with our children--to help them achieve success and believe in themselves despite having challenges related to learning or attention or physical disability. We knew that paperwork was a major part of being a special education teacher, but when there is more concern with the paperwork than the the teaching, it makes it difficult to feel that we, the teachers, can be fully focused and present for our students.
It has been a tough year.
I used to do all-nighters to get through my paperwork. Now I am zonked by 9:00pm--sometimes earlier.
My thyroid cancer--which is all clear now (as reported following my spring break scan--yay!)--was my wake-up call that life is too short to be spending time doing something that makes one feel frequently stressed and unhappy.
I am looking for a change.
Summer will be my break.
I am collecting ideas to share here.
I cannot wait.
Be back soon.
~Tamara
