Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002
Parent-Teacher Conferences, posted at 9:05 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com I love talking with parents. Tonight, about twelve different parents came to conferences and chatted with me. This is a decent number for an urban school, and the conversations went well. It used to make me very nervous to talk with parents. I felt sort of like a fake. But now I'm very confident in my abilities as a teacher, and feel like all of the students received grades they deserved.One of the best parts of teaching in an urban school is the generally extreme amount of positive support that teachers receive from parents. I've heard horror stories from teachers in suburbia about parental objections to novels, grade challenges, and other similar things that do not occur with much frequency in an urban setting. Generally, when a parent is involved, it's in a way that is positive for the teacher. I have never had one parent get an attitude with me or treat me with anything but respect.
Tonight was nothing different. A few of the parents who came were those of my more struggling students, and their approach towards me was proactive rather than defensive. It's really a great thing.
I got home at 8pm. Ugh. Every night this week I have returned home long after it was dark, except for Wednesday, when it was 5:15 and almost dark. Of course, the lesson for tomorrow isn't done yet, and there are still papers to grade from today. A good teacher's job is never done. My supervisor told me the other day that she's worried I'm working too hard, that she wants to see me doing this when I'm fifty. I will be, though. I like this too much to stop.
Nick, a math teacher my age (people think we're brothers, by the way) who came to the school at the same time I did, made an interesting point to me the other day. We hung out on Friday night, and he brought along this girl. He doesn't think things are going to work out with her, though (no big loss, I say, but who am I to judge?). He says the main reason is that his lifestyle doesn't really allow for a girlfriend. He works sixty-five or seventy hours a week and just doesn't have time or real desire to make time for a girlfriend.
I sort of agree, but Nick is in a different position than I am. He has no plans to be a teacher his whole life. This is a two-year pitstop for him as he gets his Masters and moves on to a PHD. I, on the other hand, have little desire for a Masters (I'm 15 credits into one, and will probably finish it in a couple of years, but I'm not excited about it unless I can do MSU's Summer Study Abroad Program in Paris, which I'm thinking about), let alone a PHD. While I feel like my life is full and I have no need for a girlfriend right now, I would not be opposed to something if it were to present itself naturally. I'm no longer feeling desperate, and don't even have that nagging feeling any more that I will end up alone. The weight loss along with his traveling partner, self-worth, has made me confident in this area, and I know that eventually it will happen - the girl of my dreams will make herself available and we'll get married and have kids that we'll name Xander, Trey, and Zora. (I like Xavier, too. I suppose I'll let her have some input there.) Anyhow, I know that I'm not Nick, who sincerely does work too hard to the point where he's not happy with his job, but I hope I'm not letting my job get in the way of my life.
Hmmmm.
All of a sudden, I'm very excited about the lighting of the Washington Monument of Baltimore ceremony, which is a week from Thanksgiving. This is my first Thanksgiving I've ever been away from my family, and perhaps I'm struggling a bit with picking up some new traditions here. The Lighting of the Monument ceremony a year ago was something that marked a change for me. I finally felt comfortable in Baltimore. Looking back, I guess it was sort of an epiphany - a moment where Baltimore finally felt right. I had been given a tour of Baltimore just a day or two before, cementing two friendships in the deal that have carried over (one big-time... Boston Betty continues to be a column of support for me here). I went to the ceremony with my babe magnet of a dog Holden (complete with antlers), wore a tight-ish black sweater with glasses and stubble (my "intellectual" look), and ended up getting a girl's number. Nothing ever came of that, but the event was a complete and total blast of emotion and excitement, complete with a high school choir performance that almost had me in tears, a Martin O'Malley speech that roused my emotions, and the wonderful feeling of being part of a diverse crowd enjoying a community event together. I'm really, really excited about this year's lighting - more than I ever imagined I would be. Just seeing that monument lit will remind me that it's Christmas time. Without snow here and working my ass off, I'm having a hard time remembering it's the holiday season so far. I'll probably take Holden again, dressing him in his antlers and maybe getting another girl's number out of the deal.
And that is all I have to say about that...
P.S.: So I wrote two free custom designers from the beautify site over the weekend about helping me out with my layout, but neither has responded. I even have this cool photo/graphic to use that I was hoping would inspire one of them to help, and am looking for something pretty simple. I guess this means I'll be learning html on my own a bit. I hope people aren't mean again when I try things out.