Cruel and Unusual Punishment

I'm teaching about the Bill of Rights.  I am talking the kids about cruel and unusual punishment.  One of my boys Tyler asks, "So, do all this happen in the 1980s?"  The kids never fail to give me good material!  :)

Actual Conversation with my Brother Today:

"Are you mad at me?" (We haven't spoken in a week, and I left him two voicemessages.)

***LONG PAUSE***

"Should I be?"

Haha! 

The Place I am in Now...

I've debated blogging on this for some time, but here goes...

I need to do something different.  I love kids.  I love teaching.  I love working with at-risk/high poverty kids.  It is the "everything else" that has beaten me down.  I am a big follower of what is coming down the pike from legislation proposals in other states.  I asked my best friend a few weeks back if I was just losing my edge, or was there significantly more to do (that doesn't involve children) than there used to be?  We are both very Type A people and hard workers.  She affirmed that the work load has significantly increased.  This has pretty much eliminated all the extra things I used to do for my kids, like personal encouragement letters every two weeks, I just don't have the time.  I've done 175 hours of professional development since June.  That is 25 DAYS worth of meetings folks.  At night, I end up spending two hours working on school stuff.  My husband truly gets the "worst" me every evening.  My body is beaten down.

I am fortunate to work for a large school district where even in economic times like these, there are always positions open in other areas.  It seems to be much slimmer pickings than in past years, but there are things out there.  They are hiring two people for a position that I am highly qualified for.  I asked people to serve as references last week, and they all said yes.  I redid my resume to make it very specific for this position.  I've been very proactive in my ten years, and have participated in almost everything that I've qualified to be a part of.  I have a good professional relationship with two of the people who will be making the decision for this job.  I told my husband that I should be in their top ten, and wouldn't see any reason why I shouldn't get the first interview.  Yet, I don't want to get my hopes up.  I know that my references have received the email to fill out about my qualifications.  Three of the five have completed it.  The deadline for applications is Sunday at 4:30.  I would say within two weeks of that date, they would start scheduling for interviews.  I am very hopeful.