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Back to school....

The Christmas/New Year break flew by and I have found myself back in the trenches of the 8th grade classroom. I am surrounded by projects that I had assigned to be completed over the break (what was I thinking!!) and desperately need a grade break.

We are starting the long winter stretch where school is concerned. The next two months are typically the hardest for me to get through. It is when all the optimism of the beginning of the year begins to wear off and the ol' "doubting that anything I'm doing is making a difference" thoughts creep into view. I struggle during this time because the year is officially half way over, and there is still so much I want to accomplish. I feel like I am running out of time and the kids will never have the skill set they need to move onto high school. In fact, I'm meeting with the high school English staff tomorrow, always an intimidating experience, to discuss how we can make the transition from middle school to high school a little smoother. We tend to have this same discussion every year and no one ever realizes that you can't plan a smooth transition for middle school adolescent. By definition, their entire existence is not smooth.

It is also the time when we hit writing styles with a vengeance and I am currently surrounded by 120 persuasive, I use that term loosely, essays.

This is when I wish I would have become a math teacher instead.

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