It Finally Caught Up with Me...

This week has been hectic!  Spirit week for the middle school and the high school plus a full moon is just insanity.  The high school's homecoming was last night and it was close to 11:30 when I got home.  The band went on the field for the first two pieces of our show.  They did an incredible job and I've never been prouder of them.  I realized today when I got home from rehearsal....yes I got home at 11:30 last night, got to sleep a little after midnight and was back at the high school by 6:45 this morning.  Rehearsal lasted until 11:00 for the whole band and then percussion hung around and worked until around 12:15.  Back to the original thought....I realized today when I got home from rehearsal that I have literally been working 12-14 (and sometimes many more) hour days since August 16th.  I have been running ragged and it finally caught up to me today.  On my way home last night a headache hit me.  I didn't take anything but just went to bed and slept it off.  On my way home today I got another one.  I ate lunch and it went away.  I ended up napping on my couch while cleaning out my DVR.  It was such a lazy Saturday and I felt like crap for the majority of it.  I have got to get used to this schedule and make sure to relish the few days that I get off.  In a month, it will be either over or almost over.  Lower State is October 23rd and State is October 30th.  If we make the top 7 at Lower State then we have to compete at State but if we do not make it to the top 7 then our season is over.

We were supposed to take the kids to their first competition today.  We were supposed to go to Socastee High School today but Tuesday, Socastee had a school shooting and they found unexploded devices around the school.  We e-mailed the principal of the high school who in turn e-mailed the superintendent and we all eventually agreed that we trusted the administration of Socastee but for our peace of mind and our band parents' peace of mind, we would just have practice instead of traveling.  It worked out for the best, we put the first 12 sets of our third piece on the field this morning in a little less than 2 hours.  It was great.

I'm going to share a bit of advice with all of you (whoever you are) about yourself and your job.  It will still go on even if you take a day off.  The school will still run.  The kids will be ok.  If you are sick, take the day off!!!  It you start to feel run down, take some time for yourself.  Whether you are a teacher, a CEO, a student, a volleyball player or a rockstar you will not perform your best if you don't feel your best.  People have got to wake up and realize that the world will still spin on its axis if you decide to take a day for yourself.  No one else will look out for you until you look out for yourself.

Side note:  Oprah ran two shows this week on the documentary "Waiting for Superman" and I love that she is being an advocate for public education.  There are many things that are wrong with our education system and she talked about those things but she also applauded things that are being done correctly.  I'm a true believer in the fact that if you are going to tell me that something is wrong you need to do two other things as well.  1.  Tell me two things that are right.  2.  Help me fix it.  Don't just tell me it's wrong.  We did the homecoming parade yesterday and I heard these lines so many times.  "Why aren't they playing?"  Not knowing that we just finished playing about 30 seconds before and if we worked them too hard for a parade then they wouldn't be worth anything at the game.  "I don't know what happened to this band but this is horrible."  This is what I wanted to scream at them as we walked past them on the parade route...."If you don't like it, get off your ass and come help!  Don't criticize me, my children and my career if you aren't willing to offer up some help." If people don't start getting up and helping, we will be "Waiting for Superman" for the rest of our lives.  My children deserve better.  Don't your's?

So much on my mind....

It is 1:21 in the morning.  I got in my bed at 11:00 and literally tossed and turned until I finally just got up.  I have so much on my mind.  One thing on my mind....does anyone even read this?  Am I just writing for the empty vast of internet or does someone read this and gather some insight from it?  I really wish I knew.  I guess it's one of those things where you hope that someone is reading and enjoying but it might just not be happening.  I hope someone is reading though....someone, somewhere.

I really should have finished up my homework today but I think I will either just not sleep tonight and get it done or work on it at school tomorrow.  I have no clue what I'm going to teach tomorrow.  I think I'm going to start the musical careers part of music appreciation and we will just continue working on music in the upper band classes.  The 6th graders get their instruments tomorrow.  I am so excited about that.  That's one reason that I can't sleep.  I love instrumental rental night. The kids get so excited about their instruments.  I can't even find the words to describe how much their excitement means to me.  When I see a kid get their instrument for the first time.  It's just the best feeling ever.  Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous and I know it sounds a little mushy for me to feel that way about something that all of my kids go through but that's the point of my job.  There's only one thing that tops the feeling of tomorrow night....that's the day they play their first note correctly.  Wow.  Their eyes light up and the feeling of self confidence just hits them and they feel like they can fly.  It's amazing.  It is now 1:32 and I'm still not that sleepy.  It looks like I will be living off Mountain Dew tomorrow.  I can't stand not getting enough sleep.

On a completely different note...next Sunday is my birthday and I think my best friend and I will be hitting up Greek fest in Columbia.  I'm very excited about that.  There is just something about spending your birthday with your best friend that makes life worth it.  I've really missed her.

It Has Been a While...

Well, this posting everyday did not happen.  I've had a really long and busy couple of weeks since I've posted last.  I'm working on my Masters in Youth Development and Leadership and since I've posted last, classes have started back.  I've also gotten to know my neighbors pretty well so we spend most nights hanging out.  Today is the day after Labor Day.  Labor Day weekend was great but today was not.  I literally woke up this morning almost sick because I didn't want to go to work.  I spent most of the morning not wanting to be at work.  I have to stop doing that.  The day got gradually better and by the time my 8th graders came in, I was fine.  One of my 8th graders can make me feel better by looking at me.  She's just one of those kids who you want to be in her presence all the time.  She gives off a good energy.  When she walked in, I felt better.  I felt a lot better.  I was sitting at my computer when she walked in and said "Mama, you ok?  You look like you haven't had a good day."  Then she hugged me.

 It's kids like her that make me want to be a teacher.  I said something today to one of the parents that made a lot of sense to me and opened my eyes.  I don't care about the paperwork, I don't care about the crap I get from other teachers about not being a "core subject" or the attitude from certain people in the district about the program that's being built.  I realized today that I don't work for them!  I don't work for the superintendent.  I don't work for the principal.  I don't work for the community member or parent who comes to me on a weekly basis that start conversations with "When I was in band..." I do NOT work for them!  I work for the 104 students who enter my classroom on a daily basis.  I work for the children who sit in the seats in my room.  I work for the student who looks at me on a daily basis and says "Ms. Smith, can I help you today?" Those are the people who pay me.  I am responsible to and for those people.  I don't work for anyone else. 

Teachers, please remember who you work for when you are in the classroom this school year.  You work for the faces that you teach.

On a personal note...

I really wanted this blog to be about work and not really about my life but somethings need to be written down.  Waking up this morning was very scary.  I woke up at 8:55 with the Sun streaming in my window on a beautiful day and jolted out of bed very very freaked out.  Yeah.....I forgot it was Saturday.  I was freaked out for about a split second.  I said a few things that I probably shouldn't have and then the best words of the day came out of my mouth...."It's Saturday."  I fell back onto my bed and chilled for about another 30 minutes.  When I finally got up and going, I made it to Verizon where I upgraded my phone b/c my bb curve decided to act stupid.  I got a bb bold.  It's different but I'm getting used to it.  Kind of irritated that none of my chargers work with it.  That's kind of irritating but I'll live.  I found out yesterday that my amazing Godsister has to have surgery Monday.  I hate that I live so far away from her and can't be there for her when she has the surgery.  We'll just have to rely on facebook and txt messages to make it through though (no more speedball....PLEASE).  I've also found out that my brother and his family might be moving far away so I'm trying to help my sister-in-law research schools for my nieces.  She wants to make sure that they are making adequate progress on their report cards, have a large percentage of passing scores on the state tests and have thriving extracurricular activities.  I'm working hard in the research department to figure it all out.  My classes start back this week and I'm going to be extremely busy (well, busier)....but, that's life.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."--John Lennon

First Friday

The first week is done.  Thank God.  This has been a very long week.  Today I left my house at 6:30 this morning (after waking up late) and I walked in my door at 11:07 tonight.  It was such a long day.  We had a bit of trouble at marching band tonight with discipline.  Standing up straight and acting like you belong to the group is very difficult to some of the kids.  "I'm hot."  "I'm bored."  "Do we have to play again?"  Yes, it's hot....South Carolina in the summer.  Yes you're bored....you're working at a football game and not walking around with your friends, wow, there's a football game.  Yes we have to play again.....we're the freakin' band and they scored another touchdown, it would be time for the fight song.  I didn't teach elementary school so I wouldn't have to put up with the whining.  We sounded GREAT!!!  Take advantage of that and be proud of those accomplishments.  I heard people in the crowd say that this band was the best sounding band at a football game in years.  I have messages on my phone (which I can't get to because it's acting stupid) from people who were at the game.  I hope to read them soon.  Stupid blackberry.  Well, it's 11:30 and I'm exhausted.  I've spent longer away from my home in the past 48 hrs than I've spent at my home and that includes the hours that I was asleep.  Hopefully, my phone will work soon though and I can get those messages about how amazing the band was tonight.  I am really proud of all of them (especially those rookies who still have to work on discipline).

"That's my chair..." and a huge mistake

After lunch, the 6th grade band comes to the classroom.  The best and worst parts of my day happened in that class period.  When they came in, I was still in my office finishing up my lunch.  I turned around to see half of the class running as fast as they could through my classroom.  I got worried and jumped up to see what was wrong.  They were running to their seats and fighting for the front row.  I felt like Gwen Stefani.  Last summer, I went to the Paramore/No Doubt concert and saw huge crowds of people running to the stage to get a better view of the band, even though they were going to show close ups on the big screens.  These kids made me feel like a rockstar.  It was great.  Unfortunately, the huge mistake happened during this class.  Halfway through this class, a bell rings for the start of 7th and 8th grade lunch.  Well, this class was going GREAT and I had lost track of time.  I heard a bell and released the students.  I didn't realize it until my 8th graders dropped by to put their bookbags in the room.  They didn't understand why I let my whole class go to 2nd lunch.  So, I finally got them all back and we kept going with class.  The best part about the whole situation, right before I let them go, I had told them that we all make mistakes and we don't laugh at the person who made the mistake.  I told them that I make mistakes all the time and I own up to the mistakes.  Well, that was definitely a mistake that I had to own up to.  I did learn one thing though (besides to memorize the bell schedule)......take each mistake and learn learn learn.  I'll always make them but the process of learning from them comes with experience.  I also got to teach the kids that it is ok to laugh about the mistakes, we definitely laughed the rest of class about it.

"All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes."--Winston Churchill

Hump Day

This entry will be a short one.  Today was a definite hump day.  I've been living in my candy store and everyday I'm praying for my students, co-workers and myself.  God gave me this amazing career and these children that I am responsible for teaching.  Sometimes I feel like a mother.  101 kids depend on me to give them what they need and want from the 75 minutes that I have them.  Sometimes this realization makes me elated to have been given this opportunity by God and sometimes (more often than not) it scares me to death.  I have stood up for these children, kept them safe, fed them, fussed when they needed it, loved them even when they felt no one else did, cried with them and prayed for them continually.  I thank God for this opportunity and know that no matter what, I will continue to try and do my best even when it feels like the hardest thing in the world.  Btw...reached 101 today.

Ephesians 4:1 "As a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."