Today was: Picture Day (oh, and QUITE GOOD)

Yep, today was picture day at school, and no one asked me if I wanted to get my picture taken. True, I HATE getting my picture taken, but I would've at least liked to have been ASKED if I wanted to get my picture taken. While the kids were lining up to get THEIR pictures taken, I was given the job of laminating and cutting out some animal shapes (ones that I had colored, to perfection, after school yesterday) that some students eventually sorted ["Farm", "Jungle" or "House"?] at at the Science center during Choice Time. OK, I DID get to be in the WHOLE CLASS photo, but I kind of wanted an 8"x10" and some wallet-sized photos to hand out. I even wore a green shirt today because I've been told that green brings out the color in my eyes...

Miles had a bad day. When everyone had finally left (students, parents) at the end of the day, he walked over to a bench in the Art Center, sat down, and put his head in his hands for a couple of minutes. I guess it's just all coming to a head for him: the whole situation with the girl with autism, the whole situation with the girl with CP (who's in a wheelchair) and the power struggle that continues between her moms and therapists and para and special ed teachers ("I'm SICK of babysitting ADULTS!" he said of the situation), and the MANDATORY Houghton-Mifflin (Nazi regime) reading program. I said to him, "Well, the day wasn't all THAT bad. I mean, if it helps, I had a good day." To this he replied, "SEE! That's what I mean. I'm SO busy dealing with all of this other crap that I didn't even notice that you had a good day." He said (and this echoes things that I've written here) that he's so focused on the needs of one or two students (and their mothers and therapists and special ed teachers, etc.) that he can't make his rounds to ALL of the other students. Coincidentally, my supervisor mentioned yesterday that it sometimes comes down to a "Numbers Game" - you've got ONE student who is constantly disruptive and craves attention, but you've got NINETEEN others that are doing what they're supposed to be doing. If you spend all of your time on the ONE student, then the NINETEEN others are getting short-changed. You have to, ultimately, give the bulk of your energy and attention to the bigger number.

Ok, I was going to omit this fact about picture day, but I feel, in the interest of fairness, that you should be privy to it: Miles didn't get his picture taken either. The reason that he didn't get his picture taken, though, was because it was a hectic and crazy day and he just never got around to it. I was ready for my close-up all day.