A Day in the Life
6:00. I wake up early, ready to get out of bed and entertain the day. Take a shower, make some coffee and get dressed.
7:00. Grade some papers
7:30. Going to put some coins in my wallet, but what, no wallet! What has happened? I had it last night to buy groceries...I text my TA to ask for her help to call that store and say a quick prayer, not expecting that the wallet will be returned.
7:50. Go to work by bicycle
8:05. At my desk, I check email. A Taiwanese friend has written from Toronto--we have not been in touch for over a year but are checking in with each other and keeping up on our lives. I receive a call as I write that my wallet was found! I can pick it up at 10:30.
8:30. Students are arriving for their connections period with me; middle school students who come before their first class. We talk about how each is doing and I tell them my wallet story.
9:00. Period 2 (even day classes) arrives for Piano Class. We listen to a 1930s jazz arrangement of Mary Had A Little Lamb and they write about this. Then they are practicing piano and guitar. I continue to arrange a violin part for the piece "Truth" by Arashi, the pop Japanese artist. A student watches a few music videos on my computer with me.
10:25 My colleague Naomi waves from the sand pit with her 2 year old students as I head to check out of school to go pick up the wallet.
10:30. My wallet is returned to me. The person who found it works for a logistics company that is on the same street where I live. I ride my bike back and on the way pick up 2 vegetable baozi. Back at work I do some catch-up reading on professional development that my boss sent over a week ago. I also begin to work on aligning my fall semester course topics with their numbered CA learning standards, a project I have put off for a while because of mid terms, meetings and other professional obligations yanking at my time.
11:50. Lunch time, but there are a few disobedient students who refuse to go outside at lunch. I leave them alone and go after one of our best lunches: dumplings, both boiled and fried.
12:30. Period 4 Piano. A large class which also listens to the earlier piece and writes about it. I return graded papers. Students are practicing and studying.
2:00. Choir class. Oops. Forgot to print and copy a word search I had made...maybe I can send my TA to help out on that! ---to be continued
7:00. Grade some papers
7:30. Going to put some coins in my wallet, but what, no wallet! What has happened? I had it last night to buy groceries...I text my TA to ask for her help to call that store and say a quick prayer, not expecting that the wallet will be returned.
7:50. Go to work by bicycle
8:05. At my desk, I check email. A Taiwanese friend has written from Toronto--we have not been in touch for over a year but are checking in with each other and keeping up on our lives. I receive a call as I write that my wallet was found! I can pick it up at 10:30.
8:30. Students are arriving for their connections period with me; middle school students who come before their first class. We talk about how each is doing and I tell them my wallet story.
9:00. Period 2 (even day classes) arrives for Piano Class. We listen to a 1930s jazz arrangement of Mary Had A Little Lamb and they write about this. Then they are practicing piano and guitar. I continue to arrange a violin part for the piece "Truth" by Arashi, the pop Japanese artist. A student watches a few music videos on my computer with me.
10:25 My colleague Naomi waves from the sand pit with her 2 year old students as I head to check out of school to go pick up the wallet.
10:30. My wallet is returned to me. The person who found it works for a logistics company that is on the same street where I live. I ride my bike back and on the way pick up 2 vegetable baozi. Back at work I do some catch-up reading on professional development that my boss sent over a week ago. I also begin to work on aligning my fall semester course topics with their numbered CA learning standards, a project I have put off for a while because of mid terms, meetings and other professional obligations yanking at my time.
11:50. Lunch time, but there are a few disobedient students who refuse to go outside at lunch. I leave them alone and go after one of our best lunches: dumplings, both boiled and fried.
12:30. Period 4 Piano. A large class which also listens to the earlier piece and writes about it. I return graded papers. Students are practicing and studying.
2:00. Choir class. Oops. Forgot to print and copy a word search I had made...maybe I can send my TA to help out on that! ---to be continued
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