I’ve seen all of you who are out of school. I admit, I am envious. You have already worked your way through the difficult final days of school. Our last day with students is Monday. Yes, we have the last day of finals on a Monday. As long as I have lived here (9 years), we haven’t had a stand alone day of finals after a weekend. Fortunately, the current school board decided NOT to do that again next year. Today is the last full day of classes. We have one final Thursday, and the rest on Friday and Monday. This is the time of year where the school hums in anticipation of summer. The students are rowdy, and the teachers aren’t much better. 

In math, we have moved away from instruction of new material to review. The students think they know it. They do not know it. This is my daily struggle. As an “interventionist,” I have only low performing math students. Somehow, I have failed them if they can work on multiple problems, obtain the wrong answers, and yet somehow still convince themselves that they know the material. They will toss out random low grades that they need to obtain on the final to pass the class. I will calculate the real grade they need, however they can then convince themselves that they can still get that newer, higher grade. They are confident. 

They are confident, and they are rowdy. It’s a tough environment to work in. I know, I will have the summer to recover, while most of you are still working. I feel for you. I used to have that year-round job. Then, at some point, I decided to work with teenagers… and that prompted the need to have a summer recovery period. On days like today, the final full day without a final, I miss working with adults. 

Yesterday, I caught a student in a lie regarding his review homework. I told him not to lie to me. He said, “Are you calling me a liar?” I replied that I guess I was, but I used it as a verb. He asked (sarcastically) why I was being so mean. I replied, “I’m not going to sugar-coat everything for you! If you want sugar-coating, go to a doughnut shop.” This had the opposite effect of calming the room. So, there’s that. I’m not helping myself. 

So, if you have a normal-ish job, send a little strength and some good vibes to your teacher friends today. We will send it back in the dog-days of summer, when you are struggling to get in a full day’s work. Until then, have a great week!