Fall Break

It's been a loooooonnnnng 2 months with no break, so this 3 day weekend has been a god-send. The kids on the other hand, got an indulgent 5 day weekend while we teachers had parent teacher conferences.

Conferences. Now that was an interesting experience. Fortunately a few scheduled meetings with parents of struggling students in the weeks leading up to conferences trained me nicely. It was a long haul though. Let's just say that I teach over 137 students. The average teacher in our high school only handles around 60 to 80. So compared to many, I was inundated with meetings all day; no breaks. No traumatizing encounters with parents thank heavens. They're pretty level headed for the most part. Makes sense, judging that they chose an academically rigorous school for their child to begin with. What was most interesting was seeing how the student took after the parents both physically and characteristically. That was my favorite part!

I also got a couple of direct compliments that were especially encouraging. When I introduced myself to a student's mom as the history teacher, she immediately said "Emily adores you!!!!" Those uplifting compliments I received now and again during conferences were so incredibly helpful. They've given me that extra boost of confidence to KBO (keep buggering on) till Thanksgiving break.

19 days till I'm home in Michigan for Thanksgiving!!!! Yippee! Plus, I'm home for a whole week! CAN. NOT. WAIT. for the following:

1. Phoebe & Mallory!

2. chilly Michigan fall days with vibrant colors (things are still relatively warm here in CO Springs, aside from a random snow storm early last week)

3. riding in the Navigator with Mom doing errands & catching up

4. Intellectual time with Daddy

5. Spiced Chais from Checker Records

6. Day after Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches

7. Movies with the fam on Dad's mega-home theater system

8. Breakfast and Lunch Pad Thai at the Coffee Cup

9. Going back to Holy Trinity and seeing the parish family again

10. Time with Nadia (including Breaking Dawn!)

11. Time to work ahead in class work. I will most likely be checking a bag of books on the plane. Sadly. Or should I ship them ahead?? Dilemmas...

Now its time to turn my attention to the tasks before Thanksgiving Break and trick-or-treaters tonight. Cheers!

Hello World!

I experienced this in college. Life was lived in a bubble of academia. I had no time, no energy and no patience to try and stay up to date with the world. I only allowed myself three sinful indulgences: facebook, my favorite shows on Hulu and social gossip from Perez Hilton's blog. Now that I'm back in academia (though only at a secondary level) my life is wholly absorbed by history yet again, and now grading. As a student, I always used to think that teachers had it easy grading. They already knew the material inside and out and they created the tests, so they must just breeze through it! Not so much, now that I'm in their shoes.

It seems that the majority of my time is spent grading. Sure I know the material and may not need a key half the time, but its a mindless task that simultaneously and ironically demands every ounce of your attention. I'd much rather spend my mental energy reading or analyzing something new that can only add to my ability to teach in the classroom, but alas, grading is the foundation to educating these kiddos!

What else is there to do in Colorado Springs than teach?? Well, I've finally started to find out. Spent some time with some other Hillsdale Alum last week which started my exposure to Colorado Springs. The more I experience, the more I like it here! It has some big city attractions and quality in food and entertainment, without the annoyances I had found in Denver such as traffic, sky high prices and the like. If you're looking for a modern cuisine bar and restaurant, the Blue Star is great. It's also attached to the Laughing Lab Brewery - a great Colorado product!

We also visited the Golden Bee, a pub in the traditional English style and part of the gorgeous Broadmoor Historic Hotel. What makes it even better than most others I've visited is that it is the most personable - it invites strangers to come together in camaraderie. This is mostly due to the genius idea to differentiate the Bee with a regular pianist and sing-along-songs! It was one of the most simple but fun-filled night's I've had in a long time. So if you ever find yourself in the Springs, the Bee is a must go-to place!