Skip to main content

Sunday Nights

I always dreaded Sunday nights when I was growing up.
Sunday nights signaled the end of the weekend and the beginning of a new week at school.
I don't think it was because I hated going to school. In fact, I was always a good student and loved learning, but something made me not welcome Sunday nights.

Right at around 5:00 pm when the sun started to go down and the next day loomed large, I would get sad, almost melancholy, about nothing in particular, and everything in general.

Watching Mission Impossible helped curb these feelings somewhat, but not entirely.


Even into adulthood, Sunday nights were never my favorite night of the week.

The promise of the weekend is gone. Resting, playing, reading, sleeping in...all of it is done. And, I often feel like I didn't do nearly everything I had hoped to do.

Tomorrow morning, I will drag my untouched bags full of books and school reminders back to my classroom. I had so much fun just doing my own thing. Tomorrow, I need to return to reality.

What I have failed to truly realize, however, after all of these years as a teacher, is that Monday morning gives me a special new lease on teaching. I get to start all over again with my students. I get another chance. I can do it better this time. I've known that on an intellectual level, but now I feel it in my gut, as well. Monday morning brings me back in contact with my students who are probably experiencing similar mixed feelings about the first day of the week.

Now, I think and feel differently about Mondays. I look forward to the routine, to seeing my students and interacting with colleagues. I know that everything will go according to plan, more or less, and the following week gives me another opportunity to get it right.

Lesson learned? I will stop shlepping my bags back and forth to school. I will do the other things that keep me refreshed and on my toes - social media, professional books, spending time with my family, reading. These activities will prepare me more than any time spent poring over whatever is in the deep trenches of my teacher bags. These other experiences are what help me plan for the weeks ahead.

Sunday night, a time to relax, wind down, and watch a movie with my husband or my son.

Sunday night brings Monday morning and for that, I am now always grateful.

#celebratemonday

Cross posted to Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Challenge Day #6 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Partner Reading and Content, Too Routine (PRC2)

I'm a hoarder. There, I've said it. I try to deny that I'm a hoarder but it comes back to haunt me every time I move houses, or pack up my classroom at the end of the school year. I have old articles, lesson plans, handouts, folders brimming with teaching ideas, past issues of profesional journals. I hardly throw anything out though I've learned to be more selective over the years. My one rule of thumb, and I really try to stick to this, is that if I haven't used or referred to something in a year, then it's time to toss it into the recycle bin. One exception to this rule (you knew this was coming, didn't you?) is past issues of journals from professional organizations. However, with the ability to locate articles online through my professional memberships, even this exception is becoming less and less useful, which brings me to the topic of this blog post. I am currently reading a copy of The Reading Teacher from 2010. I've clipped a cou
Post a Comment
Read more

The Reading Strategies Book - Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension

The strategy lessons highlighted in Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension, in The Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo are critical to students’ engagement and comprehension, as well as their ability to write literary essays, or even book reviews, summaries and reflective pieces about books. If students aren’t able to talk about books in a way that is invigorating and joyful, they will be less likely to develop an interest in growing ideas for writing about books. In her introduction to this chapter, Jennifer Serravallo, reminds us that when conversations go well, children are inspired by what they read and are motivated to keep reading. However, when conversations fall flat, then kids get bored and tune out. How do we avoid this situation and teach kids to  have  focused conversations about books?  The answer is easy: teach kids  strategies to help them develop effective conversational skills .  As in
Post a Comment
Read more

Are we listening?

A child sits alone with a ripped worksheet packet on his desk. He appears to be singing or subvocalizing something though no one hears him. Or, perhaps they're ignoring him. The teacher stands at the front of the room teaching on the SmartBoard. The children follow along in their worksheets. Except the child sitting alone. He is in his own world. No one engages him and he engages no one. My heart aches for this child. He is physically and emotionally removed from the class. I ask him why his paper is ripped. (It's not an accidental rip.) He says he did that on a different day. When he had been frustrated about the work. He tells me that he sometimes sits by himself because the work is too hard for him. He later tells me that he sits by himself because the teacher thinks he talks too much during the lesson.  He says he does that because he wants to find out about the "lives of the other children". My first impulse is to rescue him from the wrongheade
10 comments
Read more