Tuesday meant that I sat and held conversations with 20 of my 24 parents--the others were held on different mornings or after school to accommodate parent schedules. Each conference is very intense. I didn't realize, until I became the teacher, how intimidated many parents are when they come into your classroom. School has been a life-long positive event for me: as a student, as a parent, and now as a teacher. But, many people have had a far different emotional experience with school. So, a parent conference is a balancing act between reassuring adults that I'm actually a kind, caring person who is partnered with them in helping their child succeed, and in being the authority figure who insists that their child accept responsibility for his/her own education and quit being a pain in my...neck...in the classroom. By the end of that very long day (it lasts from 8:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.) I was done...wiped out...exhausted. I went home and fell into bed.
For Wednesday, we learned about how Nevada became a state---Battle Born is our motto. Lincoln needed this new state for three reasons: the votes from a Union supporting territory to ensure re-election; additional Congressional votes for the 13th ammendment battle; and the silver from the enormous Comstock Lode to support the war effort. [maybe a myth....] So, statehood was pushed through as quickly as possible and Nevada became #36 on October 31, 1864. But modern life has moved the celebration to the fourth Friday every October and so we get a day off from the grind. After we read and learned a little about the why, I passed out something to do that everyone was delighted to work on and they eagerly partnered up and put their little heads together and stayed on-task for the rest of the class period. What is this academic wonder? A word search of the cities of Nevada, with a color-by-number state flag on the reverse side. I realize that word searches are universally condemned by curriculum gurus, but students LOVE doing them. Actually, I mostly worked with the last group of people who were typing their final draft of an elaborate paper we'd been writing for a week, and I needed all those who were finished to be engaged independently. Then, they could take their paper home and tell their parents all about Nevada statehood day.
Thursday: teacher meetings. We generally have well-planned and useful staff development meetings, so I won't complain. And they are legislatively mandated, so I know why we have them. And, seriously, there must be time to plan and talk to the other adults in the building, or we tend to just focus on our own routines. It's just that it is hard to sit all day when our job usually entails a lot more action. One of my co-workers pointed out that the true value of staff developments days was to show teachers how it is to be a student: Sitting all day with someone up there talking at you. So...it helps us to teach our students in a more active and involved way.
Friday! Even though I had to set my alarm for the same time because I'd scheduled an early doctor appointment, it was just exciting to know that I was going to get to do what I wanted to all day. After the doctor appointment, I searched out a place that cleans oriental rugs and reassured myself that they would do a good job for the very large amount of money it will cost to clean my beautiful, but filthy, rug. Then, I found the location of the yoga studio where I am going today to start a beginner class and found where I can park. (It's a tricky part of town.) Then, I went to the Cowtown Boots store, and (finally) found a pair of new boots that my revised feet can fit into comfortably. It was a sad, sad day when I realized that my repaired feet could not fit into my dear, dear cowboy boots who had been my constant companions for more than 20 years. They'd been re-soled and re-heeled, and I loved wearing them. But...sadly, the feet are different. It was an interesting experience at the store since it is just a short taxi ride from the Strip: I was one of the few English speaking customers there. Most of the other shoppers were exclaiming over their new boots in Portuguese or German or French or some other language I didn't recognize. Apparently, buying cowboy boots is a uniquely American experience.
Then, after I scrubbed the kitchen floor and did a lot of laundry and had a little nap with Kit-Kat---we got on the motorcycle and drove down to the Crazy Part of Town and ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. CoolGuy was craving their hot-wings. It's fun to dip into some of the iconic Vegas-y parts of life now and then. This is definitely one of them. It is an anthropological event to watch people in this city.
The best part, though, was the motorcycle ride. Beautiful night, fabulous weather, new boots, wind in my face. It's weird that I like it, in view of the fact that usually I am too afraid to do things like roller coasters and skiing--both of which involve speed and sense of impending doom. But, somehow, I still just love riding the motorcycle. I think it because of my confidence in CoolGuy's driving skills. He's learned to be very vigilant and drive offensively (not even defensively) and I think that here, especially, that is a good concept. The weather is going to be excellent for riding for the next seven months and we'll be out there on the road.
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