What a day.

Let me tell you about my day...

Last night, I got to bed at about 10pm. This was a pretty decent bed time and likely earlier than almost anyone else here. I had my lesson plans largely completed so I could turn them in by the 1am deadline. Others weren't quite so lucky.

So I got up at 5am and hit the snooze. When it went off, I was about to shower and then someone from next door went into the bathroom. So I waited for a bit before my shower (answering emails, checking my supplies, etc.). Now, if I were someone who wasn't on the bus at least 20 minutes early every morning, this little kink in my schedule might have worried me.

But it didn't.

I ate a nice breakfast (french toast, tater tots, and a strip of bacon) before boarding the bus (only 15 minutes early today!).

At school, I taught my lesson. Today I was observed by my Corps Member Advisor and she left me a nice note. I debrief with her about it tomorrow, but I felt great about my lesson. 80% of my class mastered the objective!

After my lesson, I went to a session then had lunch and then observed another person's lesson. After that, the kids go home and the teachers have sessions. Today, our session was very serious.

We got in there and all the staff was looking pretty serious. Our warm-up for the session was to answer some questions about our commitment to TFA: How much of our paycheck would we contribute to close the achievement gap? Our time? Our goals? Our opportunities? When did the quality of life for our students cease to be placed above our own?

After answering these questions silently, we were going to discuss the depth of our commitment with others in our groups and compare them. Needless to say, the tone was pretty serious. Before that though, we had to read the agenda. It stated the following:

1) Clean up your table and pack up your stuff.
2) Board the bus.
3) Have a Totally Free Afternoon (TFA)!

We were shocked. Some of us had to read the agenda multiple times before is sank in. Once it did, at least 2 girls started crying they were so happy. No, no, I was not one of those girls.

But you couldn't wipe that grin off my face!

We went back to the campus where they had Popsicles waiting. They had other activities like TFA Idol (karaoke), a dunk pool, 3v3 basketball, and a BBQ.

I came back to my dorm, did a little work, rested, went to dinner (mm mmmm bbq ribs!) and then went to the copy center. I now have tomorrow and Thursdays lessons completely done and printed out!

And here I sit, 9pm. I'm about ready to do my night stuff and call Todd. Then I'll go to bed and get plenty of sleep.

Yes, yes...it was a great day.