Today was: So-So

Today was neither a great day or a lousy day. Mondays suck, I think - even though I sit around and rest all weekend, I still seem to be really tired on Mondays. Such is what happened today. Granted, I wasn't as tired as the para assigned to work with the girl in the wheelchair - at one point I looked over at her (the para [short for paraprofessional]) and she was pretty much asleep.

My energy level shot up about 10:15am when the girl with autism decided to suddenly go WILD. In the early morning, the girl was pretty good (undoubtedly because her mother stuck around for a while), sitting on the rug and participating in the "Letter Buddy" game. But, that didn't last for long and soon she was crawling under desks, getting behind the teacher's desk and grabbing at scissors, and playing in the classroom sink. [Oh, I should mention here that in addition to the door in the classroom that goes into the school, there are also two doors that go outside to the playground.] THEN, without warning, she got up and RAN OUTSIDE ONTO THE PLAYGROUND. This woman, who helps out in the classroom from time to time, and I immediately bolted after her. The upper grades where out at recess, and were, thus, kicking balls around and jumping rope, and the girl with autism was oblivious to any of it. When the woman and I brought the girl back into the classroom, she wriggled away, ran to the doors again, turned to face us, and then gave us a "Bye Bye" look, and disappeared. This happened 3 times, and then we closed the doors and stood in front of them so that she couldn't get out, although she tried prying my fingers off of the door handle. When she realized that she wasn't going to be able to get outside anymore, she climbed up on a table and started jumping up and down. Talk about liability. The woman and I looked at each other, then looked at Miles (who was a trooper and had just continued teaching the rest of the class the whole time), and proceeded to carry the girl down to the office where we had the secretary call her mom (the secretary didn't call her own mother, she called the mother of the girl with autism... yeah, just clearing that up...). Unbelievable, and kind of scary. After calling the mother, the secretary said, "Ok, you guys can go back to your classroom and I look after her." I almost said, "Um, you really don't know what you're dealing with here, do you?" but I didn't. I guess one of us (the woman or myself) should've stayed with the girl because I heard that when the girl's mother showed up, the girl was running up and down the street in front of the school... I think the girl may have just written her ticket to a "special" classroom - for as much as the mother wants the girl in a "regular" classroom, no one at the school seems to know what to make this work. Again, I feel REALLY bad - like, it's my job (even as the Student teacher) to teach EVERY kid, no matter the challenge. With this girl, I just can't really take it anymore. Honestly, I feel like it ISN'T MY JOB (and I say that with a lump in my throat) to CHASE after this one little girl all day. I'm here to watch how the whole classroom is run, and how Miles runs it - I'm not there to forcibly hold this girl's hand at all times - it distracts from what I'm really there for. Ugh.

The teachers are having to do some start of the year assessments over the next couple of weeks. Miles only told me AFTER SCHOOL TODAY that there is going to be a SUBSTITUTE in class tomorrow so that he can take kids out, one by one, to assess them. Last Thursday, in my seminar, a group of fellow students roll-played a situation where a Student Teacher had to deal with a classroom when there was a substitute in there. The whole time I watched I thought, "Oh, yeah. I'm ready to handle the class if Miles is absent. I'd walk in and tell the sub that they can just let me do everything all day." WELL, I didn't think that the opportunity would actually present itself SO soon. Actually, I'm kind of looking forward to it because it's my first real chance to either sink or swim, and, if I (happen to) fall flat on my face, so be it. Miles showed me the lesson plan he wrote up for the sub, and in only a couple of places does it say that I should to be leading/teaching the class. I told him that I was going to try and do as much of the day as possible - after all, I've been there from the beginning, I know how the routine of the day goes, and I know the kids and the kids know me. Logically, I should be the next in charge (although, legally, there needs to be a sub), so I will let the sub know that I'm going to attempt to walk (most of) the tightrope on my own.

Last night was the "Summer Finale" of Sex & the City. Need I say how brilliant that show is? Last night's was called "One" - when Steve held up the "1" candle (it was Brady's first birthday) and Miranda looked at him and said "I love you"... just, what a great show. Loved Samantha's one grey hair problem, too...

Yeah! Season Premiere of EVERWOOD tonight! (I'm SERIOUS - after Felicity was cancelled, I needed a replacement "sappy WB show" and stumbled across it...)