Life at my desk is A.P.-musing

This season is just the worst. This season creates havoc on work schedules, school schedules, workout schedules and eating habits. It continues to swiftly change lives, sometimes even in the blink of an eye. People are constantly repeating themselves, over and over again, doing repetitive motions with their hands and are stuck in bed for days at a time. There's just something about this season that drives people to absolute madness. Does it do it to you as well? You know what I'm talking about right? I'm talking about cold and flu season . Talk about a rough go at it this year. And hopefully we're almost through, but let me tell you: this cold and flu season sucks! (Sorry Mom, I'll put $5 in the jar) As an administrator, you organize, plan and execute to the best of your ability. You make sure to have a plan A all the way through plan Z, just in case. But literally, this flu season took Plans A-Z and said "haha, take that you crazy humans!" It all s...

I finally feel old. I've seen and heard it numerous times, but never openly admitted I had no idea what it meant. Then a 2nd grader said it to me this week and I finally poked the bear. Here's how it went down: Me: 'so why do you feel so sad today sweet girl?' 2nd grader: 'I'm just keeping it 100 Mrs. Johnson' Me: 'oh sure, I gotcha, now what exactly is 100?' 2nd grader: 'you know, keeping it real. I'm telling you the truth, math makes me sad.' Me (thinking about paying taxes): 'Well, math makes me sad too sometimes...' Isn't that amazing? A student keeping it 100. Her true, authentic self coming out as she is learning math. As educators, we throw the word 'authentic learning ' around constantly. It's meant to remind us that students will connect with learning when we apply it to their real lives. When the concepts become real, that's when the learning sticks. Here's one of my favori...

I can not even being to tell you how tired I am. I am barely able to even make sentences. It's weird though, I'm not physically tired. In fact, I'm hitting my step counts everyday and I'm going going going with high energy (though I do need to cut back on the Dr. Pepper!) and a smile. I have a wonderful family, a studly husband, a job I love. And yet, the past week and a half I find myself sitting on the edge of my bed at trying to figure out what I was doing. Just yesterday I walked the hallways 4 times on a mission, only to return to the bench outside my office completely unaware of what the mission was (My bladder let me know after the 4th that I'd better hurry haha!). My only conclusion last night as I stared at my Christmas tree was this: I'm mentally exhausted. I know a lot of you can relate to this feeling. Whether it's from your job or life is just knocking you plumb in the mouth, mental exhaustion is a real real thing. Our brains are so fascinatin...

Full disclosure: I'm not a parent. At least not yet. But I can tell you for a true certainty that parenting is way harder than being an assistant principal and here are 3 reasons why:  1. Parenting is a 24-7 job.  All the parents I know are constantly parenting, thinking about parenting or working through parenting situations. It's the job that never quits. I have so much respect for my fellow man who raise tiny humans. My job is time consuming too, but nothing like the time it takes to help tiny humans become productive members of society. I mean seriously, on a crazy week, I probably work 55-60 hours. I am excited to do it. Sometimes there are extra hours, or late email nights. But overall, I get to shut down the work side of my brain consistently. Parents do not get that luxury. Even when they are at work, they are parenting. Twice today I saw colleagues have to assist their tiny humans in one way or another. Parenting tiny humans is an all day, everyday job. period....

As an assistant principal, sometimes certain situations take a whole week or longer to resolve. This was one of those weeks. And this particular situation dealt with a unique classroom of sorts: The School Bus. I would like to declare to the mountain tops that a bus driver has absolutely the hardest job on the planet. Not only is the bus a moving classroom, it is also the only classroom on the planet where the adult has to manage students who are to be sitting BEHIND them. It's education 101: rarely if ever turn your back on a room full of students. But a bus driver does it every morning and every afternoon. A bus driver drops millions of students off at their homes and schools, and are given executive privilege to literally stop traffic at the push of a button. A bus driver navigates traffic lights, crazy drivers, texting maniacs and who knows what else trying to get students home safely. Millions of miles are driven in the length of a school year. Hundreds of successful trips...

I suffer from a terrible sickness. It causes others to freak out and try to "fix" me. I feel awful that it makes others so uncomfortable, but it's the truth: I suffer from Cluttery Desk Syndrome, or CDS for short. I know, I know...this picture of my desk is a little misleading. It looks clean to you right? Well...CDS takes over when you are in the midst of 7 referrals, numerous conversations with parents and students about different situations, and a checklist of sorts of things that must get done. Right when you're in the midst of the mess of course, that's when the students, teachers, other administrators want to walk in and go crazy. "Oh my goodness" one recently said to me, "how do you even know where you are the in process of your day??!!" I always respond back "I'm right where I need to be!" Throwback to a great morning in 2007-ish when the principal walked into my classroom. I was just teaching away, probably about ...

"She's a maniac, maniac on the floor And she's dancing like she's never danced before" ~Michael Sembello Sometimes I wonder why I was called to education. Other times I bask in the excitement of learning and growing. This is one of those times. I can't say it enough: I. Love. Learning. I call it life-long learning, others call it a maniac. A maniac is an "overly zealous or enthusiastic person". Let me tell you, being a new assistant principal, is definitely the perfect picture of a maniac. And, on this Monday after a break, I have become the epitome of a maniac. Last week, I got a phone call that I needed to help out at another site. As an employee of a big district, this is a normal thing, we're all a big team for sure. So, no big deal. One small change never hurt anyone right? Except, this wasn't a small change, it was a big one. I was going to the building where all the ninth graders live. That's right, going from the...

It's now the final countdown to the first big break of the school year! I can't believe how quickly time has flown and how much my poor little brain has retained learning this new job! All the new vocabulary, procedures, policies, etc. It's literally MIND BLOWING!  But the most interesting thing as I look back on the last couple months: how busy a school day is outside the classroom! I had no idea how much stuff goes on in a school outside the 4 walls of students that I taught for all those years. From the deliveries to the parents, the phone calls to the kids in and out of the nurses office, the day is constant movement. One day, I literally was problem solving from the time I stepped foot into the building until the time I walked out the door. Even the smallest problems are important to a 2nd grader, I mean you can not make it through the day without your green marker. And, how in the world do you continue to learn when your tooth is loose and the tooth fairy doesn'...

Oh yes, the job of a teacher is not for the faint of heart.   The job of an assistant principal:  is not for the couch potato.  One day last week, this is the story of my day in shoes:                                      Morning Car Drop Off:                                     Mid-Day Meeting:                                                           Afternoon Lunch and Hall Duty:                                                                   ...

All. The. Things. New vocabulary, new tasks, new names, new faces, new procedures, new hallways:  It's almost enough to make you crawl into the fetal position and cry.  When I was asked to become an assistant principal, I had no idea all the new things that would come all at once.  The first week, I was like a deer in headlights. My brain literally shut down and I would come home and it would take me hours to process everything. Finally, I broke.  I said to myself: 'Self!  I can not learn anymore of the things!!!'.  And I turned on FRIENDS and started binge-watching. The next day I went to Walmart and got a notebook.  For those of you who know me, you know that's a HUGE deal.  For those of you who don't:  I have a masters degree in Educational Technology.  I never leave home without at least two electronic devices.  I am a fan of the GAFE, the Twitter, the Boomerang, and the Facebook.  I love using and sharing tech...

A month ago, my life changed drastically, professionally.  I became an assistant principal.  Who would have thought in just 30 days, I would be more content and excited about my day to day life than I have ever been.  I didn't know I needed a change, but now that it's here, I'm exactly where I need to be.  I can't wait to share some stories with you, some musings if you will about my new adventure!  Cheers everyone!