The Hardest Part --4th quarter

I guess it is healthier to cry than not to cry, but I am tired of going to work looking like hell because I have blubbered over a news story in the car. I guess I need to invest in some waterproof mascara.

Right now we are at the middle point of our 4th quarter and so I am sitting here trying to analyze how my kiddos are doing and it is driving me crazy. As the months roll along it becomes more and more evident that at least for me teaching 5th grade the hardest part of my job is trying to distinguish between when a student really does not get what I am teaching and when they really just do not give a s**t. A part of being an 11/12 year old is learning how to keep a lot of different balls in the air - school, friends, family, friends, sports, friends, clubs, friends...it is just so important that they learn how to juggle efficiently. So even some of my really bright kids will drop that "school" ball every now and then but it is so hard to figure out if the bad grades are due to them or just poor teaching.

- my head is spinning off looking at all the variables here. ggggrrrrrrrr