Lists

I grew up with lists. The kind on a yellow pad, with my dad's distinctive handwriting. They would have things like:

61st street building:

-mow

-edge

-pick up the bucket of plumbing parts in the shed to leave at Ralston Road building

-pick up trash

-knock on #6, and give Bob Smith a letter

etc, etc.

Theses lists were my dad's way of making sure everything got taken care of when he sent his teenage work crew out to make the rounds of the apartment buildings he owns and maintains. Often, a trip that would be promised to last "a couple of hours" would stretch out long into the afternoon and evening. (It wasn't until I started working at McDonald's, and people would ask for "a couple of hamburgers" that I realized that "couple" meant "two.")

Last week, I made a list for myself of things to do on President's Day. I'm still not done with my list. Ryan says I get it from my dad.

It's all downhill from here.

Twelve weeks left after tomorrow. Not that I'm counting.

My students have been great this year. They are picking up on things, and it's fun to watch the lightbulbs turn on. I've lost a few. The semester break always brings some schedule changes. I can understand the kids who drop when their grades are rotty and they do a potty job in class. What perplexes me are the students who were doing fine and have just disappeared. Apparently, not all schedule changes require a teacher signature, and the names just don't show up on next semester's roll. It would be nice to know they are leaving, especially if they have books checked out to them.

My classes are down to workable numbers now. I can fit all of the chairs I need around the room, without adding a double row. The students who are still there seem to enjoy class, at least most of the time. I have been doing the whole year "voices off", and I feel like they have done a remarkable job of picking things up. A few weeks ago, we watched a video of someone signing a story on a video about a candy bar. A lot of my students laughed at the right place. The first time through. I think this is working. I hope.