Kicks

I want to start off with a heartfelt appreciation for all the supportive comments in my last post.  It had been a month of struggles and I was at a particularly low point.  I guess I really needed words of encouragement from fellow teachers, and the advice really helped me feel like I’m not alone with these issues.  At my last school in Brooklyn, the small staff regularly ate lunch together and I always felt supported and encouraged by my peers every day.  We’d spend those 30 minutes sharing stories, ideas and giving advice.  In hindsight, those lunches really helped support me both as an educator and an emotional human being.  That lunch culture is not really established at my current school, so I find that I can go an entire day without any more than a “hello” type interaction with adults at school.  I need to set up some lunch dates!

Things have been going much better these past few days.  Classes have been running smoothly, I’ve had positive interactions with almost all of my students, and I had a couple restorative conferences with individual students that helped clear the air.  Also, students are turning in heaps of late work and raising their grades, which helps boost morale in the classroom.  Things are on the up and up – though I’m still not sure if this school is the right fit for me.  TIme will tell.

In other news, I did a bit of retail therapy this past weekend.  I got myself some new kickers.  I’ve been wanting a pair of 8 eye Docs, but I’ve always been held back by my ridiculous boot collection and the price.  So when I saw that I had a $20 gift card and they were on sale for less than $100 at Nordstrom, I caved.  Plus, B was out of town and he’s usually my voice of reason on how I don’t need anything.  While at the mall, I popped into J.Crew where they were having one of their 30% off sale prices events.  I picked up this adult version of a sweatshirt – it’s merino wool and ridiculously soft and comfortable (J.Crew Collection).  With the sale and my educator discount, this sweater was practically free super cheap!

The ever present pencil in my hair – it’s the only way I can keep track of fit.

scarf: super old no brand – sweater: j.crew – jeans: uniqlo – boots: dr. martens