Welcome to whiny, disgruntled Monday in my world. Part of my frustration comes from having used Compass Learning now for a week while listening to my students whine and complain about how boring it is, how they do not understand the directions, how they computer just died, how they are having login issues, blah, blah, blah!.... I thought that maybe, just maybe, a break from listening to ME teach would have been a break in the drudgery, something different, if not exactly fun and entertaining, at least would give them a new perspective. Apparently not...



I think the worst part of everything is simply February blues, drug into March. We've not had a day off since Christmas break, and our spring break is not until the end of this month! Everybody's nerves are on end. We are all tired of each other and ready for a break. Add in a weird winter, weatherwise, with hardly any snow.... and things in our universe are just not aligned the way they ought to be!

Now it is Tuesday, and I never got yesterday's done!

But today there was sweet justice. As my social studies class left out the door, I noticed blue ink all over the table, chair, and floor. Of course, students were quick to point out the perpetrators, so off I went to grab them. Of course, student 1 said it wasn't him, not his pen, etc... but student 2 said it was HIS pen but #1 had grabbed it, stuck the end in the hole on the computer and broken it, causing the ensueing damage. I said I really didn't care, but THEY could clean it up. They looked hopelessly around for some cleaner, until I pointed out I didn't have anything so off they went, looking for a custodian. They came back with this cool magic eraser type sponge and a rag. Starting in the table, I was amazed at how well the sponge worked. The ink just wiped off. The boys were all smiles and giggles at how easily their mess was disappearing.

But justice, sweet justice, was on my side! The floor and the ink seemed to have created some sort of bond with each other. No matter how hard they scrubbed, the ink seemed to be permanent. After about 20 minutes of constant scrubbing, the ensuing raw fingers, and my trying not to smile too much, my floor looks pretty darned good. I don't think there will be any more ink incidents this year :) Problem solved.

I love it when it works out like that. Logical consequences - you make a mess, you clean it up. It is pretty humbling to be down on your hands and knees scrubbing the mess you made while your peers are watching. Works better than detention, better than a phone call home, every time.