A kick in the behind

The Day known as 'Make-Up Work'

Have you ever felt like a morning didn't get off to the right start?

Yeah, me neither.

Seriously.

I don't think I view my days that way, but this I know for certain - 2010 has not begun as I hoped it would.

Do not misunderstand me; I have not had a bad beginning to this new year, it's just that I don't think I've started it yet.

Which is to say, I am way behind.


This sensation stems in large part from the reality that today should consist of an entry from day 76. Instead, it's technically only day 67 - how's that for numerical irony?!

During Winter Break the Mrs. asked if it felt weird to not be posting lessons learned. It did. And yet, for some reason, I had a difficult time getting back on track.

I originally told myself the excuse that our newly purchased computer was not yet outfitted with Microsoft Office - and how could I first write out my lessons on anything other than Word? But then we got Office (a program I've yet to install), so that excuse quickly became nullified. And then, well, I generated a number of excuses that truly lived up to their legacy of lame.

But I'm not just behind in posting the lessons.

I am seemingly behind in everything.

For example, over break I fell behind in grading some student projects. Presently I am what I consider to be significantly behind in updating my gradebook. I'm behind in rolling out a new classroom feature that I introduced called Standout Student. I'm also behind in home-related paperwork. I'm behind in some shows I regularly watch and am especially behind in a few blogs I follow. Furthermore, I'm further behind than I thought I'd get on a remodeling project (we're re-facing our fireplace, just an FYI - like you really wanted/needed to know that).

The point is, 2010 fooled me into thinking that from day one it would be a tremendous year. But in all reality, the only thing tremendous is how tremendously behind I've become.

Enough already - get to the point, get to the lessons.

During the last ten school days the lessons have been bountiful. I don't know if it makes sense to go back and share them, as much as it does to just move on from now.
But what of the 180 Days of learning?
Who knows, maybe I'll infuse them into the forthcoming posts....or maybe this project will run ten days into the summer.

Thankfully this decision need not be made now. For now, I will just share today's lesson.

This evening I went to a coffee shop down the street to grade some projects (different from the ones that buried me over the break - those were turned in before break and they're all done; these were only turned in last week. Why am I felling like I need to explain myself? It's like this falling behind thing has given me some sort of complex.). Most of the students put their names on the back of this one-page assignment, which I like because it allows me to evaluate the work without any influence from who the worker is.

But as I would turn the assignment over to write the grade I noticed that I was accurately predicting whose work it was - I could almost always tell that this assignment was completed by 'Samuel', that it was created by 'Samantha'.

Today I learned that when we produce work we leave behind a portion of ourselves.
Today I learned that who we are, at least in part, can be found in the work that we do.

I hope that the work I do speaks of kindness
I hope it speaks of compassion.
I hope it speaks of thoughtfullness - to the task and of others.

What is your work saying about you?


And since much of today's reflection contained tales of time, here's a song that shares a story of something that is somewhat connected...particularly the part of me that chooses to make 3:55 and beyond my new now and to leave behind the recent past.