4:51 a.m. - Today is Saturday; thank goodness. Yesterday was the last day of "regular days" of school for ICE. For some reason, someone thought having a "Yes Day" would be "fun". I know there are a lot of quotation marks there, but as I anticipated, yesterday wasn't "fun" for me. I did get through PT, which hurt a lot again. (I need to do a lot of work to get my range of motion back in the knee.) And I went to ICE earlier than I needed to because it was "yes day". And when I arrived, the building was chaos. So I tried to do my due diligence - staying out of the way but also attempting to help supervise. Just after noon, I needed to meet with a parent who wanted to vent/share about the frustrations/experiences she felt she had from a teacher. And like a lot of similar meetings, I wasn't going to be in a position to make anyone truly happy. The parent wasn't going to feel like I was supporting her enough; the teacher wasn't going to feel like I was supporting her enough. It's just the way it goes. And I've been the parent in those situations, and I've been the coach in those situations, and I've been the teacher in those situations, and I've been the principal in those situations. I finished reading my Lincoln book again (for the second time), and those situations are pretty similar to what Lincoln experienced during his presidency while he attempted to navigate being a president during the Civil War. No matter what decision he made, he couldn't make some folks happy enough. He went through four years of watching thousands of people die; he went through four years of trying to deal with slavery; he went through four years of trying to preserve the Union. Sometimes I think how sad it was for him to be assassinated, but I think I want to read a biography about Andrew Johnson, the next president who tried to navigate a lot of folks through reconstruction. I don't know much about him, and I think now that his story is pretty challenging too. I might even reach out and go to a bookstore today to try to find something on him.
Anyway, I got through the parent meeting, and then Mrs. Emery and Mr. Bush arrived to award the teachers and honor the teachers for the successes of the year. Each teacher received stickers acknowledging the successes of their students for MAP testing in reading and math and m-Class testing (reading out loud). It's a wonderful idea, but there will be some hurt feelings for teachers that didn't receive as many stickers as others. The thing is, some seasons when I was coaching, there weren't as many wins; there weren't as many accolades; there weren't as many trophies. And that's just the way it goes. And sometimes your greatest achievements come with the groups of students or players that you went 5-20 with. And sometimes the easiest years don't require much effort at all - it's just the way it is. We get the cards we are dealt, and we do the best we can - there is honor and goodness and achievement in that.
So...my guess is that next week - Tuesday and Wednesday while staff are still in the building - I'll be working through some hurt feelings about getting less stickers than other teachers, and it's not fair because those teachers had better students. And that's going to be partially true. It's fair (and reasonable) to award success - unfortunately there just aren't awards for surviving and thriving through difficult years/seasons.
Then it was on to dealing with "the Breakfast Club". At the end of the day at 3:20, a group of our difficult second grade students were sent to me because they weren't allowed to participate in something fun. I have a bit of a problem with this, but I get it, and I did it. Sitting in the gym with that group of students wasn't enjoyable - and I'll probably get emails or phone calls about that, even though I had nothing to do with the plan. (I did get to have a conversation with Marcus Bush just before the Breakfast Club again, so that was at least healthy.)
And I ended my day taking deposits to CBI Bank and the District Office before going home. Later in the evening, Mr. Bush asked if I wanted to join him and Shawn for some beverages, and I declined. First, I shouldn't have beverages with the medications I'm finishing up for my leg. Second, I really didn't need to leave after Amber had just arrived - she's had a long school year too. Third, while the idea of getting shitfaced or even buzzed and forgetting life for awhile had its appeals, I really didn't want to feel icky this morning, as I need to get some yard work done or get to a ball game, and I definitely need to get in exercises and strength training and may even try to get in a walk if I can.
Let's spend a moment talking about our wonderful King - Donald J. Trump. Mr. President has made a "deal" with the Department of Justice - that he oversees - to drop a lawsuit for the leak of his tax returns in 2019 to establish a 1.776 BILLION dollar fund that would compensate folks who were (in his words) inappropriately prosecuted during the Biden administration. The panel that would decide who would receive this money would consist of the acting Attorney General - who formally was Mr. Trump's personal attorney - as well as four other members of Mr. Trump's choosing. The translation is that he's going to attempt to dish out thousands and thousands of dollars to his stormtroopers who attempted to do his bidding - including but not limited to the January 6 rioters who he's already pardoned and now is going to give money too. He's basically continuing to strengthen and fortify his personal army to have for him when he needs to have them - perhaps during an upcoming possible third impeachment attempt; perhaps during the end of his second term when he decides he wants a third term. THIS MOTHER FUCKER wants to pay people like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who marched on the capital and beat on police and stormed the building and trashed it. That's the mother fucking world we are in right now. Talk about the beginning of a Civil War! He's an embarrassment and threat to our country and the world and there are still millions of people who think he's the right choice - even family and friends of mine - and I JUST DON'T GET IT. I can get a better understanding, though, of how people took up arms and were willing to die for a cause they felt strongly about - I can understand that better having lived through this maniac.
Things to do for School
- update attendance each week in SDS
- send any IEP notices to Mrs. Saey
OTHER THINGS
- Kamp Komfort - campground for weekend if July 10-11
- schedule dentist appointment when able
- use Dick's gift certificate
- a hood light switch for the Ford
- May 22 - 9 a.m. - ORA PT
- May 26 - 3:20 p.m. - ORA PT
- May 27 - 9 a.m. - ORA PT
- May 29 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 1 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 3 - 8:40 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 5 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 8 - 9:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 10 - 8:40 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 12 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 8 week - Jury Duty
- June 17-18 - trip with admin to Springfield
- June 25 - 9:25 a.m. - ORA appt with Hussein
- July 10 - 7 p.m. - Shawn's ceremony in Bloomington.
- July 19-27 - Trip to Branson, MO (and Strawberry, AK) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D3BB0_IuwRs0WDKqm1Euor9WUH84SeF1DIwKi7OWeS4/edit?tab=t.0
- July 28 - Bus Refresher Course
- Nov. 5 - 10 a.m. - Milan Optical
Things To Do for History Page
- What/Where is South Buffalo Prairie School and for that matter West Buffalo School and East Taylor Ridge School? ugh.
- Friday Tidbit on the RR History Network Page
Knee Surgery Dates Completed
- March 11 - 10:25 a.m. - ORA Moline - Consult
- April 1 - 1:45 p.m. - ORA Moline - MRI
- April 9 - Walk in labs at Tr
- April 15 - Dr. Wang pre-op physical (surgical clearance) 8:45 a.m.
- April 28 - 9:40 a.m. at ORA Silvis
- April 30 - 10 a.m. - Milan Optical
- May 4 - surgery on left knee at Trinity Moline
- May 5- returned home from hospital
- May 6 - home recovery
- May 7 - home recovery
- May 8 - home recovery - visited ICE for about an hour - 9-10 a.m.
- May 13 - 8:45 a.m. Post-Op Appt Hussein
- May 15 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- May 18 - noon - ORA PT
- May 20 - 8 a.m. - with Brandon; 9:20 - ORA PT
