Lesson Plans to Baby Carriages

Ughhh.....even as a Teacher Mentor Trainer for New teachers, this time of year is HECTIC! Whew, I am tired. I am happy that so far out of all my Newbies I have only had 2 abandon ship on my team and that my friends, is HUGE. In Florida, Teachers are in SHORTAGE and 100+ classrooms in my County are taught by permanent subs and NOT certified Teachers because of this shortage. So, if you know someone fresh from College with a Teaching Certificate...send em on down to the The Sunshine State...we can use some good Teachers!
Today, I was taking with a new Teacher that was in tears because a parent had "ripped her a new one." I had to counsel her through it and get her to realize this is the part of Teaching you do NOT learn about in College. Truth be told, after years of teaching the hardest part of Teaching in the traditional classroom is.....the Parents. In my case, it wasn't the parents who asked 1000+ questions, call/e-mail constantly and/or question every assignment.....I LOVE those parents, because THEY care, THEY value their Child and are involved in their life. The Parents that made me so angry are the ones that don't give a damn. Yes, believe it or not.....some Parents do NOT give a damn. (Or at least their lifestyle and behavior = that result). In my training, I share so many WONDERFUL teaching moments I have experienced in my life. I also share some of the realities of Teaching.......drunk parents coming to school, a parent coming to pick-up a child high on drugs, and so many more that would make your skin crawl.
I share all of this to say it felt good to have an "Ah Ha" moment with a new Teacher....after our time together I really felt good about the exchange and I can't wait until this New Teacher realizes what a terrific job she is doing & it will get smoother and her confidence will improve.

***On a side NOTE: I would like to send my Healing Prayers and thoughts to my buddy, Deena...so many people have you & Vince in their prayers. At a time like this no words can ease the pain but I am here in any way, anyway you need me.****

Jobs I've had:

1) Amusement Park Food Service Worker (1st Job)
2) Daycare Worker
3) Head International Camp Counselor
4) Elementary Teacher
5) Teacher Trainer -Current

Places I've lived:
1) Va - Northern
2) Va - Mountains (during College)
3) Nara & Tokyo, Japan
4) Florida

Food I love:

1) Mac & Cheese
2) Enchiladas - YUMMY!
3) Japanese Noddles & Veggies
4) Potatoes - anyway at all!

Places I would rather be:

1) Walt Disney World
2) Curled in bed with Enrique Iglesias - Aye Papi!
3) Traveling the Globe
4) In a Mommy & Me class with my child

Movies I love:

1) Imitation of Life
2) Beaches
3) ALL Harry Potter Movies
4) ALL Star Wars Movies
5) Maria Full of Grace
6) Sound of Music

TV shows I watch:

1) Big Love (Favorite!)
2) The Tudors
3) Almost anything on National Geographic or Discovery Channels
4) The L Word
5) Nancy Grace Hour

Books I love:
1) Bag of Bones - S. King
2) Almost all Lisa Kleypas Books
3) Roots & Queen by Alex Haley
4) a stack of boring Teacher Books and nifty Manuals. (YES, I am a Nerd!)