Sunday, August 29, 2010

TSS: Broken Record.....

I feel like I am sounding like a broken record - and even I am tired of hearing it.  Being the ever impatient person that I am, I just want to develop this new back-to-school routine and get on with life.  But alas, adjusting to anything new takes time and no amount of kvetching is going to change that.

I did manage to survive this first week of school.  I was, however, totally exhausted by Friday evening to where the only thing I managed to do was sit on the couch, put my feet up, and mindlessly watch television until 9:30 when I finally decided to go to bed.  I did not wake up until the dogs barked out at 7:00AM Saturday morning.  My legs have almost grown accustomed to standing 6-7 hours a day, and my voice no longer sounds like a frog at 3:00pm.  We are making progress.

This is my 7th year teaching at this particular school and I have finally learned how to start the year gradually -- allowing myself and the students time to acclimate to a rather rigorous work schedule.  Very little homework was assigned this week, and I had no papers to grade.  Next week a few worksheets will need to be reviewed, but I have two terrific Teacher Assistants who can be my first set of eyes.  It will not be until the week after Labor Day that tests and essays will need my undivided attention.  I am hopeful that between now and then I can find the time to do them justice, while allowing myself personal time to rejuvenate.

I have not had time to read much these past couple of weeks, but I have found a terrific YA novel that is quite similar to my personal writing project.  I plan to start reading this a little each night and hopefully make copious notes to which I can refer.  The name of the book is Marie, Dancing by Carolyn Meyer.  While our two stories are quite different, they do take place in the same time period and involve several of the same characters:  Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, and Marie van Goethem.  It should be a wonderful way to rest and relax at the end of each school day.

I have not worked on my novel since July, but I have done quite a bit of research and have tried to maintain a daily journal, which I find enormously satisfying and often quite practical in working through the issues of life.  In the college level English Comp class this year, as well as the Creative Writing class, I have had the opportunity to teach students the value of becoming keen observers in order to be effective writers.  I have encouraged all these students to keep a journal to record these daily observations.  For now my journal entries focus on morning meditations, but I soon hope to begin to take time for walks and begin to observe the world outside the four walls of my home.  

The Creative Writing class is rather small, only four students, and I am hoping that we can take advantage of this and perhaps go on a few field trips to local coffee houses or shopping malls and use our powers of observation to jot down memorable conversations (to help with dialog skills) or interesting people (to inspire believable characters).  This is one class in which I know I will learn far more from my students than they will learn from me.  I am very much looking forward to this year with them.

I apologize for the repetition of subject matter on this blog lately.  I hope to soon rectify that; at the very least I want to carve out enough free time to participate in Carl's RIP challenge.  I already have several books put aside for that event!  AND....bestill my heart....I want to set aside the weekend of October 9th for the annual Fall Dewey Read-athon!!

Until then I hope to start visiting your blogs on a more frequent basis, and hopefully find the time to write a few blog posts of my own.

20 comments:

  1. Your broken record is my broken record. It just takes awhile to get back into the swing of things. Last year I think it took me a couple of months! With all the insanity that comes with back to school, I doubt we will be doing the Dewey Read-a-thon, or maybe will just do a piece of it.

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  2. Molly, glad the first week of school went fairly well. I always look forward to Carl's RIP challenge as well - enjoy.

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  3. I'm still waiting for the onset of school to hit me. We have not yet opened the library, so we've been scurrying around doing this and that to get things ready.

    Best of luck trying to balance life and work. It's difficult.

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  4. I'm entering the pool slowly myself this year. I don't expect to have everything up and running until the end of week three.

    But then the race begins!

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  5. Despite what you feel is a "broken record," sometimes we do have to reiterate things a bit so we can get into our rhythm.

    Sounds like you have done that!

    Hope you enjoy your reading...to help you wind down at the end of the day.

    Do you have time to read at lunch, or do you have "duties"?

    I almost went into teaching, but decided I would do better with kids in small groups or one-on-one—hence the social work career. I'm glad I made that choice, which worked out better for me.

    Here's my salon:

    Click Name=URL

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  6. I am glad your first week went well. I will be getting back to work tomorrow, and I can understand how you feel.

    I just saw the Marie, Dancing book yesterday at a book store, but didn't buy it. After seeing it on your blog, I'm wishing I had. Oh well.

    Have a great week, Molly! I hope you get all the relaxation you need as well!

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  7. Marie, Dancing sounds like the perfect book for you to enjoy and reflect on. Glad you eased into your first week back instead of diving in at the deep end. I'm sure your students appreciated no homework right off the bat.

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  8. Molly, I'm really proud of you for being kind to yourself this week. I know it was challenging, but you've got it behind you now and you're not beating yourself up. Looking forward to hearing more from you as your time and energy permit. Hugs to you!

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  9. I don't think you sound like a broken record! I'm looking forward to both the RIP challenge and Dewey's read-a-thon too! Have a great week!

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  10. Molly, I've missed "seeing" you at my place lately but totally understand your schedule.

    Praise God for your teaching.
    May He give you time for that novel...

    And thanks for blogging. You reach my heart..
    Patti

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  11. I hear you. I'm still adjusting as well, but get the fatigue 100%. I stayed at my desk on Friday until almost 7 pm! Thankfully, I walked out of the school with everything copied and ready for the entire week. Now I get to sit back and enjoy my weekend! (Well, except that it's Sunday night and I have to get ready for bed sooner than I would like!)

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  12. Don't worry about sounding like a broken record. And I'm going to try to mark October 9th for the read-a-thon ... thanks for the heads-up on that!

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  13. Sounds like you're adjusting to the fall routine bit by bit. I don't think I'm going to be around for the read-a-thon this fall :(

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  14. It's always so much fun to read a novel that is similar to one you want to write--to see how the author interpreted the time period; to see the issues she found important to focus on, and so on.

    On the work front, I think we both love what we do, but we also have so many other interests ... Wouldn't it be nice if there were more hours in each day.

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  15. Good luck with all of your classwork and teaching! It sounds like you've got a good handle on it (even though it seems overwhelming to me, and I'm just reading about it).

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  16. Your daily journaling sounds lovely. It's funny, but for me, summer really put me off my journaling stride. I'm starting to revise my mystery novel now, and I've been thinking about starting up a book journal just for that purpose.

    And your creative writing class sounds really lovely!

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  17. I hope you find some time to read and that the school year treats you well. :-)

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  18. I hope you find some time to read and that the school year treats you well! :-)

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  19. I love reading about teacher perspectives. I do appreciate and understand how exhausting the days are. GOOD LUCK with the school year.

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  20. "...I just want to develop this new back-to-school routine and get on with life."

    I understand that...and wish I was there too. I am not sure why it takes me sooooo long to get adjusted to a new schedule. We're about a month into ours now and I am finally balancing out somewhat.

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