Ready for a Normal Week

It felt good, this morning, knowing I don't have any crazy clothes to put on...or make-up...or crazy hair styles to mess with.  As much as I love Spirit Week, it's always nice to get back to a normal routine.

Although, technically, I haven't had a "normal" routine since school started.  But, you know what I mean.

Yesterday was a long day.  

I finished up my writing, and then the whole family got ready to head to my parent's house to see my sister for her birthday.  Despite her being eighteen years old, my mom still provided the regular cake, blow out your candles, kinda thing.  Mom wouldn't have it any other way.  Her youngest daughter may have become an adult yesterday, but she did it the same way she's done it for the past 17 years... blowing out the candles on her birthday cake, surrounded by her family.

                                

It was a nice couple of hours with my parents.  A nice break.  I knew I had piles of work waiting for me at home, but it's always nice to step away once in a while...just to see my parents.  

When it was time to leave, it was a quick run to Walmart on the way home to pick up the week's groceries, and then home.  One good thing about not being home very much during the week is the fact that our grocery bill is a lot smaller than it usually is.  Hubby has given up trying to plan meals for us during the week, so we resorted to picking up quick fix stuff that we can throw in the microwave when we finally make it home each night.  

Being that Wednesday is, once again, the only night that we'll be home at a reasonable time, it totally makes sense not to prepare meals each night and just stick to quick and easy stuff.  It's just one more week of this, and we can hopefully go back to being home a little more often.  One can only hope.

When I did finally make it home, I had a ton of work to wade through.  A mountain of papers to grade, and a mountain of grades to enter in to the grading system.  I never usually have so much grading, because I usually have the kids grade most of their own papers, but with all the changes I've made in the classroom this week - there wasn't really much time for the kids to grade their own papers.  I'm hoping to adjust that this week, so that there isn't so much work for me to do come next weekend.

To make matters worse, I was really stressed out last night.  

Without going in to too much detail, I will say that I found out something yesterday that really upset me.  It has played on my mind ever since, and I hope to get to the bottom of it today.

What I can say is that one thing I will NEVER condone is a child being dishonest with their parents.  Especially when there's absolutely no reason to be.  I tell my students in my class each and every day that my number one rule is honesty.  Just be honest.  Life is much simpler when you just fess up to doing something, or ask permission to do something.  Consequences will be less severe, and the worst you'll hear if you ask for something is No.  To lie or manipulate a situation just so that they can get their way never works out.  It will always backfire.  Maybe not right away, but eventually.  It's just not worth it.  

I've even made a couple of my students write letters to their parents when they have been downright dishonest with them.  I usually find out through my sending a note home, and the parent responding with what the child has told them.  When I speak to the students, they are honest with me about not being truthful with their parents, and I make them write a letter explaining their dishonesty and their reasons for doing it.  

Last year, I received a very nice letter from a parent thanking me for making her child stand up and admit what they had done.  It meant a lot to parents when I met with them at conferences and explained my procedures and protocols when it came to honesty.  Learning to be honest as a child is sometimes a tough nut to crack, but if my students leave my classroom having honesty instilled in to them... I did something right.

This year, I can definitely say that I have a bunch of honest students in my class.  I'm not sure if they came to me that way, but regardless if they did or didn't...they are now.  No matter what the situation, I just have to look a student in the eye and say "Remember my number one rule" and they will fess up to whatever it is they did.  And when they do, I make sure to hold up my end of the bargain by being less severe with their consequences.

A five minute time out at recess is far better than a trip to the principal's office.  Redoing an assignment is far better than a note being sent home to a parent with a zero paper stapled to it.  Being told no is far better than doing what you want and then facing someone that you lied and manipulated to in order to get your way.  

Honesty is just the best way to go.  Period.

I've often had students ask me if I've ever lied.  And I'm honest with them.  Yes... I have.  I've lied to someone because I didn't want to hurt their feelings or because I know that my lie is what they want to hear.  They are about the only reasons I've ever lied to someone...and I don't really do that near as often as I probably should.  Honesty is probably one of my best and worst assets.  People who really know me know that they are going to get the truth when they ask me something.  If they don't want an honest opinion from me, they probably shouldn't ask me.  If I do something wrong, I'll be the first to admit it.  I was raised with the understanding that honesty is the best policy, regardless of the situation.

So, I'm sure it's not hard to figure out that my stress from last night was caused by some lying that's been going on.  Not from me, but possibly about me.  

My way of dealing with such things is to face it head on... which I tried to do.  I tried to find out more information, contact the person involved, let them know that I had heard partial pieces of stuff and wanted to talk about it... but nothing.  I knew the person saw my messages that I had sent, but I didn't get a response.  Which made matters worse.  If I am being accused of doing something wrong, or being a part of something I didn't know I was a part of - I want to discuss it, find out, straighten out any dishonesty or problem that there may be.  But, I got nothing.  

So, today, I have that all weighing on my mind as I try to get another week kicked off.  I hope that whatever it is that's the problem - because I honestly don't know what the problem actually is - will come to light today.  I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Right now, though, it's time for me to get ready for work.

Have a good Monday!!