I know what you're thinking: blogging at 1:30 in the afternoon? Miss McCallie, you must be breaking the rules! Rest assured that I am back in the comfort of my room and no, I'm not playing hooky. I just wanted to give you all a shockingly hilarious picture of what the mentality is right now.
A week ago Friday (i.e. at the end of our first week of teaching), our elementary school got the terrific news that our bus would be leaving at 6:50 instead of 6:15. I never thought I would see a group of people happier than we all were that day. Boy, was I wrong.
According to our calendar, our first afternoon session today was called "Creating a Welcoming Environment." Great. We're two weeks into this thing, and NOW you're going to teach us how to welcome the students? There was much grumbling in the halls. We file into the *freezing* cold auditorium and are greeted with a "Do Now"--usually a moment for reflection or discussion in partners or groups. The question for today: "What does TFA mean to you?" We're all feeling like we've answered this question a few times, so there's a bit of eye rolling. Nevertheless, we all turn to each other and start to "discuss." Snark abounds.* A few people are asked to share, and we get some standard responses. "TFA means being a catalyst for change." "TFA means hard work." etc. etc. Our facilitator nods her head. Good work, good work. "Well," she says, "to us, TFA means Totally. Free. Afternoon."
The place erupts. It was like Oprah's Favorite Things episode: "EVERYONE IN HERE IS GETTING A NEW CAR!" I'm pretty sure our decibel level rivaled a jet engine at 100', or at least a Pneumatic Riveter at 4'... No joke, people were crying at the thought of having four "free" hours this afternoon. Obviously, it's awesome, and I'm *so* happy to be sitting here instead of in a session. I just got such a kick out of the overall reaction. The look on some people's faces was like, "The birth of my first child will not rival the happiness I feel at this moment." It's like that scene in Shawshank where they get to have a beer on the roof after they've re-tarred it. Never you mind that we soon will have to go back into prison--for now, there is elation. Thank you, TFA!!!
*Snark Abounds: good name for a band? Better or worse than The Pneumatic Riveters?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Anna, when you talk about the guys on the roof, it should be, "after they were retarded," not "after they've retarded"
Post a Comment