Week 2 was one of the most "out of routine" weeks to date. It seemed that Old Man Winter and Jack Frost had different plans for the school systems in southeastern Pennsylvania. Snow came for hours, it came fast, and it didn't melt.
I received automated calls on both Tuesday and Wednesday that cancelled school as the snow fell outside for hours and hours. Here, in Schuylkill county, mountains and rolling hills dominate the landscape, making it difficult for school buses to navigate in bad winter weather. Not too late Wednesday evening I received another call that there was a 2-hour delay for Thursday morning. This meant that students had a five-day weekend and would really only be in school for a day and a half.
So what is the umbrella lesson that I learned this week? GO WITH THE FLOW
There are days and weeks where the schedule will change, weather will keep the students from school, or lessons will just not go as planned. And guess what, THAT IS OKAY. It will happen, it's inevitable. Thus, it is how you bounced back and stay the course that matters.
Since it was only a day and a half week for the students, it was a task to get them back into a routine and back on the regular "school" schedule. However, it could be done. Slowly but surely, and with some direction, the students got back into the old groove.
Because of these snow days, my start day for teaching was pushed back slightly. So now that we are entering week 3, where I begin to teach, I am telling myself that there will be some tough days, some lessons may not go as planned, but if I put in the work and go with the flow when necessary, this is going to be a great experience!
Here we go! This is where the rubber meets the road!
Wish me luck.