Friday, March 8, 2013

No Count Down Yet

I haven't mentioned this for at least a week, but I'm retiring at the end of this school year. After our faculty meeting today where we learned about the testing schedule for the rest of the year, I'm the envy of all my peers who have to keep working. What genius figured out that kids learn by endless rounds of standardized testing? I won't go into my educational philosophies except to say I'm glad my children are all out of high school and that I will soon be done with public education too.

That said, let me climb down off the soapbox, some of my blogger friends have suggested I put a countdown gadget on my blog. I am counting down the days but I'm not adding that counter yet. If you live in the Middle Atlantic States you will understand after this week. All the weather forecasters on TV, online, on the radio, predicted we would have a big snow storm on Wednesday. Maybe as much as ten inches. So our school along with dozens of others, canceled classes for the day. Now we have to make that day up later. And March isn't over yet. We could have another storm or pseudo storm.

So I'm going wait before I put that countdown on my blog. I'd probably have to adjust it if I did it now. I'm fortunate enough that our school superintendent is a friend. She told me once making the call for snow delays and cancellations was one of the most difficult parts of her job and one impossible to get right. You can't please everyone. I wasn't pleased we had school off but I understood why our leader made the call she did.

Knowing you can't please everyone is an important part of life. You'll only suffer stress and unhappiness if you're sacrificing your goals and desires to try and please everyone else. There will be bad reviews, unfair criticism, and disgruntled readers. When you put your baby, your book, out there you have to be ready to roll with the punches. You can't please everyone all the time.

So who didn't you please this week? Did you get a big snowstorm this week? Ready for spring yet?

8 comments:

Tonja said...

I was happy for one snow day - and that the kids definitely will not have extra days to make up. I think the snow we got will be gone today - my little guy is going to cry.

I agree with you about the tests.

Maria Zannini said...

Our trees are just now beginning to bud and the grass is greening up.

Hubby is retiring next year. He can retire at any time, but he wants to make sure he's put a little extra away for our future.

Whenever that happens, I plan to throw him the biggest party he's ever had. :)

Please tell me you plan to celebrate too. You deserve it.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Hope you don't get that much snow and have to make up days. And we've had very little snow this year.

Mark Means said...

It's like Ricky Nelson sang about in "Garden Party"... "You can't please everyone, so ya got to please yourself..."

Congrats on retirement!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

If you please everyone then you're not being effective.

LD Masterson said...

I understand your caution on the countdown. Schools here were closed on Wednesday for the storm that didn't live up to expectations.

And I totally agree on the subject of standardized testing. We're teaching our children how to pass that stupid test instead of teaching them how to think.

Sharon said...

No snow out in the Pacific NOrthwest! Happy for you that you get to retire; don't know if we can ever afford for my husband to retire in 9 years! :) I love your quote; it put a smile on my face! Have a great weekend! Oh, and I'm so glad my kids are out of school except now my grandkids have entered the ranks of public schools and I worry about them.

momto8 said...

my sister retired from school teaching 2 yrs ago...oh! she paints, draws, photographs....and for as great a etcher as she was, i do not think she misses teaching...
good luck!!!