Routine

B49:

In my world, coffee brewing automatically begins early at 5AM while I lay still in bed.  Between begging for more snooze, and physically getting up, some type of mental war rages: should I get up now, or snooze another 10 minutes?  Stretch … cling to covers, roughly mentally run through what the day brings.

I am not really hungry, but I force something in my mouth each morning and let it get running until juices in my stomach are somewhat satisfied to get food broken and start internally my body’s work for the day.  There’s no telling how work schedule will run in the course of time on any given workday.  My beloved, thoughtful as always, advises I better get sustenance taken care of.   Appropriate or inappropriate, I decide to let it pass.

Getting-dressed for work is another thing.  Even if I laid out an outfit the night before, my internal, and the actual outdoor weather quarrel in the morning.  Pressed with time, whatever decent and presentable put-together pieces of clothing get put on.  One quick look in the mirror is ritualistic.  It murmurs, ‘Whether or not you like what you see on, you must get out NOW or run the risk of getting late to work!  Time is of the essence.  Get up, get ready, and get going.  No turning back!

At the worksite, in the main office, something else of urgency is forming.  A parent, with no English background, needs assistance with a document.  What’s the receptionist doing?  Why had she not called the Interpretation Office for help?  The protocol is front of her, but she is just pushing paper.  Politely, I ask that help for the parent is attended to. She obliges. Whew!   I could easily have ruined her day and mine.

What’s next on plate?  Get to the conference site with a teacher and a student’s parent.  Romney had not turned in necessary papers for free or reduced lunch qualification.  Charges to the Cafeteria are beginning to pile up. What are the parents thinking? We can’t let that continue.  Has the Social Worker called on the parents?  Has she done a home visit?  There’s a protocol for that too, but why has there not been a follow-up?  Let’s take care of that right here, right now.  Cool off, head!

The real fun time begins mid of day.  I get students engaged.  Today, ELLs and their peers must work on metacognitive strategies and text referencing.  (Say what?)  You read it right.  Primary, middle and secondary level students grapple with such.  What should they be working through in those heads as they call out and struggle to read with understanding?  Are they minding the words, phrases, sentences?  Are they practicing chunking of ideas as they go?  Are they stuck?  Why?  Are they slowing down and speeding up where needed? What do they know about word prefixes and suffixes?  Are they able to spot the base word?  Do they know that they can refer to those graphs and photos/captions, maps on the page to get comprehension clues?  What do they bring to their reading process?  Are there experiences to which they could relate?   Can they make connections between personal and vicarious experiences, texts, and other resources?  Are they picturing in their minds what’s happening in the text?  

Ongoing assessments follow.  Is Naty keeping up with phonics?   How many words in a line can Suzy call out in one minute?  What skills should Henry have before number factoring?  Etcetera!  Assessment is a never-ending cycle.  All types of assessment are good practices and are oftentimes necessary for forming healthy learning habits.  Professionals adjust facilitating learning with intervention and enrichment.  It is what it is.  All these and more, are just part of the learning curve and lifelong learning.

Hours in the academia go fast.  Take the first, go to the next, and follow it up until finally you could take a breather.  Cool water is good for the chest and head.  Slow down on challenging tasks.  Speed up on clerical work.  Take three long, and deep breaths.  Roll the back, the neck, stretch those legs and bend forward, backward, side to side.  There … done!  

Confer with colleagues next.  What was observed about Rolando and Audrey?  Hu San doesn’t know his letter sounds yet, but he could count to 500!  Owen has no clue on what he is copying from the board.  He is one of those going through the motions.  Parent conference must be called soon for these young learners.  Eric, Brian and Ulani should move up to the next reading level.  Let’s try again tomorrow.  Let’s try to move forward with intervention, enrichment and re-teaching of what was not well understood today.  Give the learners some time to develop, re-group.  Tap support available in the home.  Be patient …

End of work day:  Reflect … How did the day go?  That was an intense, energy-wrenching day.  Work on errands after work?  No.  Not today.  Let’s get home, do something to relieve the stresses, and get renewed strength.

What’s for dinner? 

‘Got to finish chores or they’ll pile up. 

It’s time to relax --- finally.

Routine … it is good for the mind and heart.  Capped with accomplishments for the day, no matter how small, one well-lived day is especially good for the soul!