A Teacher's Woes

I'll be honest, I need to vent for a few minutes.... If that makes you not want to continue reading, that's fine. You won't hurt my feelings. I just need a place to make my voice heard today.

I have spent the last two days giving my students a district-mandated timed test. My students had 60 minutes (spread out over two days) to complete 20 in-depth math questions. If you're not a teacher, let me give you some background information here. The state of Texas will be giving a new standardized test this year, called the STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness). The test is going to be timed, so in preparation, our district has started timing the kids on various tests or assessments, so that they can get used to the pace that they are going to be required to work at on the future test. I totally agree with the decision to do this. If they're going to be timed on the standardized test, then we're going to need to help them build up their skills to be able to master that test.

So back to my venting. I have spent the last two days watching hard working 11 and 12 year olds read questions, underline and circle important information (strategies I really stress in class) and solve problems to the best of their ability. When I say they were hard working, I truly mean that they worked REALLY hard for the 60 minutes that they got. Did I have the occasional student doodling with a highlighter on their pencil or staring off into la-la land for a few minutes? Yes. But the majority of them really gave me 100% for the hour that they were working.

And despite their strong efforts, I had at least 40 kids (throughout the day) that were not able to complete their test. So now, I will get their results back and know that there not an accurate depiction of what my students are capable of. Needless to say, this does not make me happy. I hate that they worked so hard for that hour and will have nothing to show for it because they did get to finish. I hate that I had to pressure them throughout the testing time to "make sure they were keeping a good pace so that they would finish on time". I hate that there are kids that rushed through it for fear that they wouldn't finish in time. I hate that one of my students felt the need to apologize to me because she just couldn't finish it. **Side note - She was so sweet in her apology, and I assured her that it was in no way her fault that she didn't get to finish and that it was not going to impact her math grade.**

Don't you think our kids have enough pressures in their young lives, without having to worry about how fast they can solve math questions?? I just want to know who makes these crazy decisions. I know it's not a teacher, that's for sure...

Long Overdue Update

I can't believe it's been over two months since I last blogged. Joe and I have been adjusting really well to married life. We are currently both trying to get over being sick. I got sick on Sunday and missed two days of work, and now Joe's fighting the yucky cold symptoms. He missed half a day today. I guess that's part of being married. In sickness and in health, right? On a positive note, we're officially all settled into our cute apartment. We even bought a futon for our guest bedroom, which I'm so excited about! We're expecting our first house guest this coming weekend, so that was our motivation to get the guest bedroom in order. I'm excited to have one of my roomies from ACU, Cagney, coming in town to stay with us next weekend. We're having a mini ACU reunion with all of our friends, and it's going to be so much fun! New husbands. New babies. Lots of changes since the last time we were all together, so I can't wait to spend some time with my girls!

Another exciting piece of news, we got our wedding photos back from Chelsea and they are awesome! Here are a few of my favorites!

Joe messed up on part of the vows, and this picture really captures that moment perfectly lol

Not sure what we were talking about, but I like my face in this one. :)

Hope you're all having a great week! I'm really going to try to get back to blogging more. I like having a place to get my thoughts out and keep track of what's going on in life. Now that things are slowing down, surely I can find more time to blog, right? We shall see.

Mr & Mrs Thompson

It's official, we're married!! Woohoo! The wedding day was everything we could have ever imagined and more. I truly had a fairytale wedding. It was amazing! Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible. Here's a few candid shots I got on my camera.

Joe and I at the Ritz Carlton

Here's a link to a sneak peek video of our wedding: http://www.vimeo.com/26236590

Clay Hervey is so talented! I can't wait to see the full video.

Teacher Moment

Here goes a post that is not wedding related.... I know... Crazy right?!?!

Today was a bittersweet day in my teaching world. TAKS scores came back for my precious sixth graders, and I get the unwanted responsibility of telling them if they passed or not. It's a bittersweet day because I LOVE getting to celebrate with my babies who have worked super hard and passed, but having to tell the kiddos that didn't make it, that the failed is just so difficult. I always try to present it in the most positive way that I can, but it's still tough.

One of the biggest highlights of the day happened in 1st period. I was pulling kids out individually into the hall and telling them their verdict. One of my boys that has been coming to tutoring since March to make sure he was ready for TAKS came out. I told him he passed and a huge smile appeared on his face. I sent him back into the classroom to get the next student. A few minutes passed and he stuck his head back into the hallway. He looked me in the eye and said "Thanks for teaching me, Ms. Griffith." I told him he was very welcome. It was one of those moments in life that you think "If only I could take a picture of this moment so that I never forget it." (Have any of you ever seen The Office episode where Jim and Pam "take pictures" with a pretend camera when something sweet happens - that's how I felt). The best part is that this kid is one of those that knows how to push my buttons at times. So, for him to take the time to stop and say that to me truly warmed my heart.

It was a reminder that even when I am frustrated, tired, worn out, at the end of my rope, someone is counting on me to help them. Someone is looking to me for guidance and direction. I hope I never take advantage of the little opportunities (i.e. students) that God gives me each school year. As this year comes to a close, I hope that my students know that I love them and that I believe in them.

On that note, 7 more school days until summer :)

Picture Overload

Ok, I promised pictures when I found my camera cord, so here they are. Enjoy! :)

Everything was so girly, which is just the way I like it to be!

My wedding shoes were the inspiration for the day

Lots and lots of presents = So much fun to open!

Love it!

These cleaning gloves are so cute!

Me with my bridesmaids minus Megan

I set this up at the apartment after the shower. I'm loving our new dishes!!

I think that's enough for one post. There are more that I need to get off of my mom's camera as well. Also, this weekend we had my Bachelorette Party, so I'll definitely be adding some pics from that really soon. Happy Easter!

April Showers

On Saturday, we had our first wedding shower. You would have thought that it was Christmas, by the way I laid in bed wide awake on Friday and woke up at 6 on Saturday morning. I was just so anxious to see everyone and to celebrate with friends and family. So many of the people that Joe and I love and adore were there, and it ended up being a blast! Not to mention, my hostesses did an AMAZING job of decorating. I was going to post pictures, but I have misplaced my camera cord, so the pics will have to wait. BIG thanks to everyone that joined us at the shower, and especially for those that helped organize and decorate. I could not have asked for a better day with those that I love most.

Sunday, Joe and I spent time putting away our new stuff in our pretty apartment. I need to post pics of that too... Man, that camera cord is causing all kinds of problems...

This week, I'm taking a "me" day on Friday. My bachelorette party is on Friday, so I want to have time to rest up for all of the fun that is going on that night. I can't wait to spend time with some of my favorite girls!

With so much going on, I've gotten behind on blogging. So, if you're still out there reading this, thanks. :) I promise LOTS of pictures are coming ASAP.

100 Days

In exactly 100 days, I will be marrying the love of my life. I can't wait to be Mrs. Miranda Kay Thompson. :)

Mal and I just got back from a Spring Break trip to Austin to visit my grandparents. Memaw and Pepaw sure do know how to have a good time! We got there on Wednesday and we went to the outlet shops in San Marcus. Pepaw is so cute when we go shopping. He comes along, but never intends on shopping. He moves the car up and down the shops wherever we need him. Then he sits and reads his book until we need him to move closer to us. We walked out to the car once we were done, and he had escaped. We called him and found out that he was getting ice cream right by the car. So we joined him, and it was perfect weather for sitting outside and enjoying a sweet treat.

On Thursday, they took us to Fredricksburg, which was a lot of fun. We walked up and down the main street and bought a few things here and there. The atmosphere of Fredricksburg is really neat. If you haven't been, you should definitely check it out. Then, Pepaw "surprised" us by taking a small detour to Luckenbach. We walked around a little and listened to a Willie Nelson look alike singing and playing his guitar. What a cool place! I could have sat there for hours. It was well shaded and such a pretty day for enjoying some time outside and listening to good music. And, according to my Pepaw, we are now officially Texans since we've been to Luckenbach. :)

Other fun things about our trip: dinner at Chuy's with Terri and Rita, playing games of Phase 10 at night, a visit to Charming Charlie's, jamming out to old songs with Mal and just enjoying one another's company. There's nothing like spending time with family. I feel like one lucky girl.