General Mayhem

There are a few moments in my job when my heart just feels sad.  Right now we're doing benchmark reading tests.  I tested a 5th grade girl today who reads an average of 16 words per minute.  To give you an idea of what that means, that last sentence has 16 words in it.  I read about 245 words per minute on a sixth grade level.

Then there are moments when my heart is full to the brim:

When the second grade boy tells me jokes at recess

When one of my favorite third grader boys says, "I need a hug, I'm having a rough day."

When the kindergarten girl runs at full speed to give me a hug

When random students I don't ever remember even seeing say, "Hi Mr. B!"

The adorable new kindergartener who looks to me with his puppy dog eyes when he's scared or unsure.

The way my Spanish-speaking kids sound like adults when they talk.

The way my boss likes to give me a hard time, but deep down thinks I'm indispensable.

The fact that I have a secret hand-shake with the coolest kid in 6th grade.

When I test a 4th grader and he reads over 200 wpm.

Overall, I think the positives outweigh the negatives...