Seventeen Days

Seventeen more days of school. Seventeen more days of certain kids, the ones that make seventeen seem like forever...last week, my student teacher was teaching and I left the room. Big mistake on my part. When the dust settled, three students ended up being removed from the classroom for a day and a half.

The week after school ends (after those seventeen days....) I'm going to New York City for a quick weekend. A baseball game in Yankee Stadium. Walking down Fifth Avenue. Roasted almonds from the vendor on the street corner. That should be a good stress reducer. And then West Palm Beach for 10 days in July. Another something to look forward to doing. I asked my daughter today what she wanted to do in August. She thought for a minute and said, in all seriousness, "London is nice, but what about Rome?" -- that's my girl!

I don't know if the decision to go off Zoloft was the right one for me, at least right now. I know I'm quicker to be angry when I'm not taking the medicine. And my patience is thinner. But I'm not in a fog or 'zoned out' and I feel happier overall, I think. The people around me are being patient with my quick temper. That's all I can ask at this point.

Another 'new' news bulletin is the series of classes in which I enrolled. Dr. Kaplan in the education department at the University of Southern California (USC) is a leader in gifted education, especially in urban settings. I have been using her icons the past few months and have noticed an increase in academic vocabulary and connections among my students. I signed up for a Summer Institute with Dr. Kaplan, and enrolled in a certificate program with her that starts in October. The program lasts for one academic year, and my district is thrilled that I will be studying with Dr. Kaplan herself. I am too!