No, really, I don't

I watn you to know that I don't really hate my job, and that I don't even remotely hate my children. In fact, I love each and every one of them (don't tell them, because that would totally undermine my authority) enormous amounts. Even the ones who drive me up a wall -- when I see them learn, or they actually show me what they know, I bubble over with love for them.

Monday was just a bad day.

Today, on the other hand, was great. R-- decided that he really wanted to be on his privelege card at the end of the day and he tried SO HARD. I had to make him flip his card at one point becuase he made a bad choice and he cried, even though he was still on green (warning, no punishment). I made a deal with him: continue to behave, and I will flip you back. It worked. He ended the day at the TOP of the consequence chart! M--, who can not really speak understandably, wrote a WHOLE, READABLE SENTENCE. Honestly, today went so well because R-- decided to follow the rules, which probably had nothing to do with me, and because J-- was sick (in class, noone could come and get her, so I let her sleep in the "library") and E-- was absent, and those are my biggest dicipline problems. So the biggest issue today was K--, a smart ADHD kid, although he was even better because I put a rubberband on the bottom of his chair and we made a special sign for him to get my attention.

Amazing. T-- raised his hand and gave me a thoughtful answer. I had my high readers take the reading test on a listening station, my easily distracted or low readers take it with Mrs. B--, and the rest of the class with me. When both my highs and my lows finished before my bigger middle group, I had one of my highs read a story to the rest of the group and she did and they listened! Ah, it was a great day of teaching...