I am incredibly tired. Working both jobs is quite the chore, it wouldn't be so bad if the jobs didn't have completely opposite schedules. Working till 10:30 PM at the restaurant and then getting up at 5:45 AM to make it to school on time is not an easy task. The worst part is that I feel as though I am making virtually no difference in the children's lives or education. Unfortunately the attendance policy is not enforced and as a result the vast majority of my students do not come to class and suffer no repercussions. I spend most of my time sitting in the library or the teachers lounge. For a school that is on the verge of losing its' accredidation and being run by the state, they could certainly put forth more of an effort to get these students to pass. The whole experience has been rather disheartening, but at the same time the money is nice and what little experience I have garnered has been much needed and useful. The best thing that has come out of this assignment is that I learned that I truly enjoy teaching, in fact I love it. I am very glad that I have finally found an occupation which leaves me feeling fulfilled and content. Supposedly this school is going to have a program similar to this one next semester, but I doubt their ability to get it off the ground. The administration here is preoccupied with so many things unrelated to the upcoming SOL examination re-takes that it is on the verge of being hysterical. I would cry about how poorly this program has been progressing, but it is easier to laugh and make notes in my files indicated where the responsibility truly lies. More than likely all of these students are going to fail the re-takes and there is nothing that anyone can do to stop it.

I registered for my first graduate class and bought my books too. It feels good to be on the right track.

The holidays were nice, and more importantly it was nice to have 3 consecutive days where I did not have to go to either job and was able to rest and relax. Well, since none of my students showed up for first period, I need to get back to sitting here in the library and reading. I used to use the time when none of my students came to class to do my lesson plans, but since I have yet to get past the first lesson plans I made--there is really no point. My only hope is that the administration is critical enough of themselves to realize that the blame for the scores these students are about to receive does not lie on my shoulders. I get the feeling that this is not the case, and that this will somehow come back to bite me in the ass. Oh, the joys of working in education.