Back to School Night and a bunch of other stuff...

So tonight was back to school night in Provo School District. It was really weird for me- not the me being a teacher part but the me being a mom part. I am not quite sure how moms who are teachers are supposed to act at BTS night, because most of my teacher moms only communicate with me via email. I met Tyler's mom once, I never met Kristin's mom, and Hayden's mom only told me she was a teacher at the very end.
Anyway, Jerly was there which was akward at best. She was even more nervous and fidgety than I was as we were meeting with Mrs. Long- Andrei's Spanish Language teacher, and she was totally absentee when we were meeting Mrs. Sekaquaptewa the English Language teacher. BTW I asked Mrs. Sekaquaptewa what kind of name that was since she's like a 5'11'' white lady and she said it was a Native American last name. I didn't press for details. I told both teachers I am also a teacher at Dixon and Mrs. Long seemd non-plussed. Mrs. S. (as she will heretoafter be referred to) seemed psyched. We'll see how it goes.
Andrei was well-behaved but very curious and somewhat confused. This is such a huge step for a little kid who has attended a very small one-teacher school since age 3. Having two teachers with seperate rooms next to each other seems more than he's able to grasp right now. I'm sure he'll catch on quick, though, because he's a smart kid.
For those of you who are confused reading about English and Spanish Language teachers, Andrei is enrolled in the dual emersion program at Timpanogos Elementary, which I'm pretty sure is just about the best primary school in the state. Trust me. I've been to a few of them. They have over 50% Hispanic/ESL enrollment, and over 60% Free and Reduced Price lunch, but somehow they manage to produce students who are academically excellent as demonstrated by the State's No-Child-Left-Behind standards. One of the major contributing factors to that is the Dual Emersion program where students attend school one week in English and the next week in Spanish, alternating throughout the school year. I've had the pleasure to teach many of these students who have graduated to Dixon and they are by far my highest acheiving students in either language. I'm thrilled Andrei qualified for the program.
Anyway, I also ran into LeAnn Smith who is my BEEDE teacher there, and that was kind of cool. She's like the school's Title I Guru and has some pretty sweet connections, so I am glad I know her.
Afterward I ran over to Dixon where the temperature upstairs was still a balmy 90 degrees due to an A/C malfunction. Needless to say I sat in the hallway where the temperatures were a mere 87 degrees and directed the parents and students visiting to check out the classroom but to not feel obligated to stay long. It was a good turnout. I had about 25% of my enrolled students show up. I also had visits from several of my favorite students from last year like Tony and Michelle. I even convinced Elizabeth and Lorena to sign up for my Dos Mundos class, which is going to be supremely awesome this year.
Back To School night is always a little crazy because all of the teachers who have been totally blowing off their jobs over the summer come back a little disoriented and end up throwing stuff together last minute that doesn't quite work out. Plus all of the new teachers are like deer in the headlights having to face real students and real parents on their own for the first time. This year I feel like I finally got it right, though. Yay!
I am at a really weird place right now trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up. When I was a kid I failed to make any concrete career plans because the only thing I REALLY want/ed to be is a stay-at-home-mom. Despite my prestigious academic credentials, I really don't want a career and although I always do well in whatever job I am working (thanks to my step-mom teaching me how to not be an idiot while on the job). I seriously don't enjoy anything as much as caring for my family and home. Now the tricky part is, how do I justify being a SAHM if I don't have kids? And that, dear friends, is why I'm juggling 2 careers this year. I tried the SAHM thing for a while and ended up depressed and bored because of the whole no babies thing. I figure I've got until May to make up my mind about my career selection, though. I think it's time to grow up and face the fact that I am probably not going to have any children of my own... which means finally picking a career path. Any thoughts on the matter?