Day 17: Exhaustion Sets In

Today was the first day where the fatigue of all my hard work and lack of sleep really took a toll on me, so this blog post will be shorter than the past few. I felt sluggish all day and it impeded my reaction time, classroom management skills and ability to contribute to the teaching staff actively. I began to see how I need to change my living habits in order to make it in this profession, or as an adult in general for that matter.

Tremendous fun in Acting Class

I had a fairly average day. My first class this morning went pretty poorly and I felt pretty crummy going into my interim planning period. My second class went much better, probably in large part due to Megan's brilliant idea to change the seating arrangement to free up space in the room. Pictures to come tomorrow. We worked on summarizing essays today and I played a little improv game with the kids called "Half-Life" in which they had to act out a scene in increasingly shorter time increments while including the same plot points. They seemed to enjoy it, but one girl got too excited and tripped and fell on her hand. I became very concerned, so I had Megan get her an icepack for me. She handled it like a champ, but I am worried going into tomorrow that she may have some residual feelings of bitterness toward my class because of it, particularly because the student in question has been one of my most difficult so far.

Look at those smiles! (That's Lauren on the right.)

During our elective class today, we had a surprise fire drill. It was the first time I was responsible for leading a group of students through an emergency procedure, practice or otherwise. I felt confident and was able to snap quickly into action. My kiddos also were very responsible and well-behaved. The drill went very well, and afterward we played some really fun improv games (side note: remind me to tell the story later about one of my students getting so invested in his improv game that he said in no uncertain terms "Hail Satan"... I wish I were kidding, though it was actually quite funny in the moment). My kids became fully convinced that they will be able to set Lauren and I up as boyfriend and girlfriend by the end of the summer (little do they know) by suggesting we do an improv scene with me as a knight and her as a princess. At first it was funny, but it became annoying and started to make both Lauren and I feel uncomfortable, so we shut it down rather creatively by twisting the scene so that she was an ugly princess and I was repulsed by her. We made our plans for next week's elective classes too and I'm very excited about them.

Advisory today was not very notable, except for the fact that my advisees drew pictures of each other on the classroom whiteboard when they finished their homework. See the beautiful portrait below:

L to R: Eddy, Karla, Janice, Eric, Cheese (high school intern) and me

After work, my boss Katy called Matt and I in to discuss a lesson plan we had prepared for Monday incorporating social justice into our curriculum on conflict development and resolution in narrative writing. She vetoed it but handled the situation very professionally and actively expressed how impressed she was with our thought processes and willingness to dive headfirst into challenging material. Later in the summer, when we start writing literary analysis essays, she is going to help us revisit the subject matter so we can prepare it properly and ensure the classroom is a safe space for students to explore these topics if they want to without being forced.

Even after 3 years, The Book of Mormon is ridiculously impossible to get tickets to, but I vow it will happen one day. The tour is returning to Philly this fall and, come hell or high water, I will be going.

Immediately after this meeting, I skedaddled downtown to meet Braden and Billy. We rushed The Book of Mormon but were shocked to find there were upwards of 60 people doing the same thing, so we decided to go to a movie instead. We saw the new Pixar movie, Inside Out. Confession: I was so tired that for parts of the movie I struggled to stay awake, but I really enjoyed the parts I saw. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's one of Pixar's best, but it's certainly an improvement on their past few movies and I wept a little at the end, particularly as I reflected on my house in Berwyn which is being sold this week. That house has been a haven for me since quite literally the day I was born, and while I recognize it is time to move on, there will always be a part of me that holds 808 in a special place in my heart. The movie perfectly presented the necessary mix of Joy and Sadness which go into moments like this one, and its immediate relevance to my family and I had a big impact on me.

Still a fun night with friends!

After the movie, we got burgers in the Food Court and talked for a little while about our jobs and Mask and Wig next year. Billy's going home for the weekend for his brother Bobby's high school graduation, but Braden and I are trying to make plans for Pride on Sunday. We both already have groups from work that want to go but we're going to try to meet up once we're there.

This post doesn't have one of my typical sweet, tidy conclusions because my brain can't seem to piece anything together for one. All I'll say is that today really taught me how important sleep is as a teacher, and with that said, it is time for bed.

Until next time,

Nate