Mental cleansing

My week of mental cleansing has begun. Really it's April Vacation week (started with Good Friday off), but I like to see it as a time to clear my mind of all of the issues I have to deal with at school. I like to take a vacation in my mind when I have a vacation for school, otherwise I'd go crazy. It's so nice not to have to get up at 6am and start my long, grueling day. No need to hurry in and remember to grab my homeroom folder. No rushing to make photocopies before the bell rings. No having to dance and entertain for a bunch of kids. Just a time to relax and be thankful that this job, as stressful as it gets, comes with decent "mental cleansing" time.

Since the last time I've been here, I do believe I have made successful strides in achieving the goals of my last post. I even have started praising all of the students that I've seen an improvement from (even the kids who've gone from getting 20s to getting 50s!). In many cases, it has turned into their positive participation in class and a desire to work even harder for that praise. In other cases, some kids feel like they're completely doomed (honestly, some of them can't pass for the year even if they get 100% this term) that they put in little to no effort. I'm not going to stress about it so much the rest of this year. I just have to rememeber that next year I have to make sure that they all start out as strongly as possible and that they don't let their unfamiliarity with the subject intimidate them. Next year (assuming I'm offered my position again), things will definitely improve, as I'll be a little older and a little wiser.