Friday, February 5, 2021
I lost my rhythm today. I had an appointment for Elsa with the dog groomer right after our walk. I was expecting a Sears serviceman between 8 and noon. I had an appointment with Dorothy to go over the presentation of my method for teaching decoding skills to the Step-Up Tutors, then an 11:30 to work with D. It wasn't that much, but I got myself twisted in a knot.
Dorothy gave me good feedback on the presentation. We were done by 11 instead of closer to 11:30 when I had D. Seeing I had a window of half an hour, I chose to rush down to pick up Elsa. I had dropped her off at 7:30 am. She is much more comfortable at home than at a groomer; however, wonderful Dave the groomer is. He lets her sit on his lap. There is a tenderness to this man as he works with the animals. I have mentioned previously that his workspace looks thrown together. Mike would have had trouble with the lack of 'professionalism.' Me, I'm the opposite. I look for the heart and assume I will find it more quickly in a thrown together situation.
On the way down to pick up Elsa, I remembered that I was expecting the Sears Repairman. I pulled over and called Yvette and asked her to come up to my quarters and be on the lookout for Sears. They need an adult present before they enter the house.
Because I rushed to get back to work with D, I took risks. I was lucky I came home alive. I did have a little fender bender where the fender didn't get bent. I was maneuvering in the parking lot at the dog groomer's. Of course, I was doing under 5 mph. I gently, ever so gently, touch something behind me, a door perhaps. I have the rearview image. However, I was expecting it to frantically beep at me when I was in danger. It didn't. I tapped whatever was behind me. Did I check? No. But I did check my rear bumper when I got home. Not a scratch. I hope what I hit looks as good.
Of course, I got home too late to work with D at 11:30. On Fridays, he had to be back in his classroom at noon. I wrote his mother that we could try for later in the day. Also, I was exhausted from the stress of wrestling with time. I was ready for a much-needed nap. I got a phone call from Judy saying she was on her way down to my house to drop something off. It was a book on writing called "The Writer's Journey." She also brought a folder of her notes summarizing the book. It was instructions on how to write a good story. I believe Judy was responding to what I wrote about the co-writing I'm doing with my student. It was interesting. It made me think how my objective with the students is different from classic story writing and how I could include some of the book's points in my teaching.
When I woke up, it was well beyond noon, and I had had no word from Sears. I called. The customer service guy told me they hadn't sent someone because I hadn't received all the necessary parts yet. I had received an email from Sears. I hadn't read it because I assumed it was just a reminder—all that sturm and drang for nothing.
I finally got on Zoom with Daniel after 3, after a few more misfires. We finished the story he was writing about a day at the beach. He was able to tell the story in an organized way. I realize that most of my students don't write stories by the definition of the book Judy gave me. My goal is to get them to articulate their thoughts and feelings. This is what they will need for life success. The students Judy worked with went to high-end private schools on Oahu. I had an encounter with some of those parents.
One parent asked for help for her Kindergartener, who needed to learn who to write two sentences in a row. Really! I don't think I was required to do that until second grade. Fortunately, that parent wanted in-person tutoring, so I didn't have to tell her that I wouldn't work with her child; I considered the academic demands made on young children a form of abuse.
I had another text from a parent asking for help with her third-grader. OMG! The child was on grade level, and the school recommended that she get 'remedial' support for her reading. It's another one of those private schools. They expect their children to be one to two years ahead of the national standards. The mother was a little shocked.
She kept saying that she and her husband had attended a public school on Maui and had done just fine. They had friends who attended a local Waldorf school where they don't start reading until they were in third grade; Waldorf doesn't teach word recognition skills until a child is at least 7. All those kids went on the become doctors and lawyers. I told the mother that if her child was mine, I would tuck her under my arm and run for my life. The mother didn't disagree with me. Here's the problem: the girl loves the school. She loves the people and the focus on religion. Okay. I'm with her- as long as the girl is happy. However, the mother did say that the girl's self-confidence is sinking.
I made arrangements to work with the girl. But how am I going to deal with this school induced anxiety? Who needs it? Life is hard enough. We shouldn't be driven into a panic.
Judy and I talked at length about teaching. We share a lot of interests. Tomorrow she flies to Oahu. She will have surgical prep on Tuesday, then the operation on her back to remove a benign tumor from her spine. Judy does keep us entertained with her medical problems. Thank you so much, Judy.
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