9.20.2019

poop emoji week

Not going to lie--this has been a hella week.
There was a fire at my sister's apartment building a week ago and she found out that the building has been declared uninhabitable. Which means that almost all of her belongings are lost to smoke damage--there was no structural or water damage to her place. She found a new place (which happens to be in my building) right off. There has been tremendous community generosity--outpourings of people wanting to help. It's overwhelming how people are reaching out. That's the beauty of living in a small community.

On Wednesday, I was walking down the hall, approaching one of my students when she looked at me and burst into tears. She didn't finish her assignment for class and couldn't handle disappointing me. I gave her a big hug (after asking if she needed one), reassured her that this wasn't a high-stakes assignment and she could have time to finish. But the pressure this poor kid put on herself was radiating from her. I said that I realized there's more going on than one assignment being undone and that her ability to cope was more important than an assignment. I could feel her visibly lighten by the time we were done talking. But that was the vibe of the week from all my students.

Today was a mandatory workshop day that was attended by more than 550 teachers from the region. The keynote speaker was interesting. The featured guest speaker was pretty good. But the breakout sessions were god-awful. Painfully bad. Ugh.

2 comments:

Stacy said...

Oh, gosh...that's awful about your sister's place, but so glad she is okay. That's the most important thing and pretty cool that she found a place in your building. I hope you're able to shake off the poopy week and enjoy the weekend.

The Gal Herself said...

I'm glad your sister is safe and sound, but I wonder how I feel about her in your very building. I know you appreciate your privacy and alone time.

My hackles go up whenever anyone puts "mandatory" before "workshop" (I have one next week about social media) so I feel for you.