The wordle above pretty much sums up my school year so far. I love wordle.net. I found it at the end of the year last year and was really looking forward to using it in my class this year. Well, this year has been very different. I have started my new position as Curriculum At-Risk Data Specialist. Rather than being obsessed with the progress and engagement of 22 fifth graders, I have been working on the progress and engagement of 28 teachers. I have looked at data and research non-stop for the past 3 months. I do enjoy this job. I love having the opportunity to assist teachers and to hopefully make their job a little easier.
I do, however, miss having my own students SO much. I miss planning lessons for them that I know they are going to love. I miss seeing them learn new things. I don't miss grading papers, but that's about all. I've now taken to grading 500 assessments instead. Not so sure yet about the trade off. As I move through this year, I certainly hope that I can make some sort of difference in the life of some child through this different venue. We'll see!