SOMETIMES SAYING IT OUT LOUD DOES MAKE IT REAL

Tonight I was on a panel of immersion educators discussing struggling learners and general immersion strategies. Then I had a breakout session afterward. I thought it went well, which is nice. I loved seeing colleagues that I miss and respect. One of my friends asked how things are going in high school. "I don't cry anymore," I responded. "You have to do what you love," says a friend, "Don't work where you aren't happy." I realized that I DO like high school now. I just have to get good at it.

I've gotten over the knowledge that my job isn't important to almost anyone. I can laugh about the fact that the principal gave the tiny room I asked for to someone else. I still feel like I could not show up for work for two weeks and only 3 people would notice. But, still--- it's going all right. My kids are pretty great and I finally have some friends that make every lunch period happy.

Now, all I have to do is keep refining this ginormous job of speech-language pathologist at the high school level. I know I need to teach strategies, but my kids don't seem to generalize them. So I try to help with content and assignments, but I don't see them enough to keep up with what they do in class. If I do push-in service (which I will do a lot of next year), I will be doing more literacy and less oral language... I have a lot of ideas, I just have to figure out what to do and when. I want to be awesome. I just have to figure out how.

Big Dirty Secrets

Can't sleep.
I've been brainstorming, researching, taking notes and (theoretically) improving my practice all week. I am an Ideator. I'm just not always an Implementer. This is my big dirty teacher secret. If I implemented a fraction of my kick-ass ideas, I would be Queen of the World.

When the teachers from SPPS came back from Winter Break, we were greeted with a letter from the Superintendent. In it, she said that since this was the midway point in the year, it was time for us to make course corrections if we weren't getting the results we wanted and it was time to re-frame obstacles into opportunities. This really spoke to me. I decided to get out of the self-feeding spiral of whining-wishing-lamenting and get on with getting on. I gave my co-worker a silver bar at Christmas with the following message inscribed on it: Change your attitude and you change your world. I decided I needed an attitude change. And ever since that day, I have been happier at work. It's funny how the job is no different today than it was 2 months ago--absolutely nothing has changed but my attitude---and I feel the difference every day. It's not the "ahhhhh, I'm HOME" feeling of my old school, but it IS less hectic than my old school.

Getting back to my sleeplessness:
I am SO EXCITED to use both differentiation and UDL/technology in my teaching but I need a consistent place in which to do it. This means that I need to glom onto some nice teacher who has a room and access to technology (because we all know that this isn't going to happen for me). This also means that, since I'm a bit of a control freak, that I need a team teacher who will kind of let me do whatever I want. I am already planning who. And I am already planning when (starting in the fall when we go to a 7-period day instead of a 4-period day). I know it will be hard. But I can't wait to see some of my kids more engaged in their learning. I also am thinking about writing my IEPs so that I see kids each day in a class or 2, but only for 1 or 2 quarters a year. Although that doesn't seem "right" at first blush, it will actually be WAAAAY more therapy time for them. And I can check for carryover of strategies. And I can bring more differentiation and technology in if I am there each day. These ideas mean that I also will have to get my way with scheduling, but I think I can do it.....

Reframing obstacles into opportunities. Thanks, VS. I needed that.

Peaceful Non-Resistance, Baby!

So maybe I need to have faith that I am exactly where I need to be. I don't know why yet, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't be at my current school.

In the book I am reading (Women, Food and God), Geneen Roth writes: feelings are in the body, reactions are in the head; a reaction is the mental deduction of a feeling. (and beliefs are reactions that we've had so many times that we believe they are true.). In an attempt to not feel what is uncomfortable, the mind will often rant and ramble and tell us how awful it all is.

Now, Roth in the book is talking about mindless eating, but as a part-time student of Buddhism, I recognize the message for my life and happiness at work.

Feelings are transient. I need to go ahead and give those feelings a little space, recognize that they are there, recognize how they feel. And then they will fade away. These feelings will only turn into reactions when I leave the present moment and re-live the shock of my principal telling me that I will never have my own room. Or when I dwell on the reactions of being misunderstood when colleagues say "Why does so-and-so have SPEECH?!" when they DON'T have speech, they have a language disorder. (no wonder they don't value what I do---they think I'm speechifying kids who talk just fine).

I need to have peaceful non-resistance so I can stay open to figuring out whatever my purpose is at my current school. I need patience. I need faith. I need to chip away at the belief that I will not be fulfilled professionally. Om.

Guess who had a great day at work today?????

I'm schizophrenic and a drama queen.

Today was a one of 4 great days I've had a work so far this year. I'm such a freaking optimist that one good day gives me hope.

Probably I'm stupidly optimistic.

Also, my supervisor does not want to move me. I mean, if I demanded it, she would. Sometimes I wonder if I just need to get over myself.

WHY DOES "SIGNIFICANCE" NEED TO BE IN MY TOP FIVE?

I might have the opportunity to either stay at my current school or go back to my previous school. It's not as easy as making a pro/con list because everything is not weighted equally.

For example, in my current school, the work is EASIER and the environment is WORSE. There is way less paperwork.

In my old school, the work is HARDER/MORE and there is way more paperwork, but the environment is WAY BETTER.

In secondary, there is a group of wonderful, smart SLPs that are my support. As an SLP, I'm not alone. But I only see them 1-2 a month. In elementary, the other teachers are my support group and I see them every day. As an SLP, I am more isolated/alone.

Secondary kids are kids who want you to be a support person. They don't seem to care if I actually teach them language skills. But I like them a lot. Elementary kids give my educator's soul more. They are ready to LEARN. I don't know that either group do much carryover of what I teach them. (which makes me wonder if we should be rethinking how we do special education services, or language services at least.......but that's a different story.)

Why does environment matter so much to me? If I go back, will I think, "Ugh! Why did I choose THIS!? I'm swamped!"

But if I stay, will I think, "Why didn't I get out when I had the chance?!"

And my feelings change daily.

What I WANT is to care more about just seeing the kids and doing what's good for them. But really that is only part of what I care about. I also care about feeling significant (to kids, teachers, families and administrators). I wish significance meant less to me. I wish I was the kind of person who just says, "I work for the kids; that's all I care about." But it isn't true. Then I think maybe with time, I will become more I-don't-care-about-anything-but-the-kids. But what if I don't........

Please comment. I'm freaking out here.

Did You Really Say That?

My principal is a nice man. He has a gentle voice and a respectful manner. I really like him. He has offered me yet another place to see kids---the foyer of the auditorium! I now have six keys jingling around my belt loop because I have so many options of places to have therapy. None of them consistent. Of course, all of these places are only good til January 26th, when the first semester ends. Then all bets are off and we begin again.

The principal asked me and one of the APs to meet with him this afternoon. In this meeting, he says to me, "With all of the services we offer in this school---social work, chemical health---I just don't see a day in [our school] where the speech pathologist will ever have their own space."

Yep. He said it. Just like that. Remember my "Line in the Sand?!"

And then, after school at my Child Study Team meeting we were lamenting a bit on the space issue. My LD colleagues all have rooms, but none of them is actually a legal classroom. I commented to my team, speaking about myself, "I just don't know why an SLP would work in a school that doesn't have a space for them when every other school does." One snappy co-worker snarkily says, "Maybe to have a JOB!"

Well, luckily for me, I have options. And a job.

CHEERS!

The therapeutic effects of drinking with a group of speech-language pathologists cannot be over-stated.