With two days behind and two days ahead, I find myself both exhilarated and exhausted. The conferences have been supremely satisfying, but they have also been decidedly demanding. Conferences are not without cost. Attention must be paid, and attention is…well, exhausting. I am not complaining. It’s a price I willingly pay. But just because one is willing, it does not mean that the effort does not take its toll. And each carries a different cost. No two conferences are the same despite the fact that all kids have prepared in exactly the same way.

Some are short. Some are long. Some are serious. Some are funny. Some cut straight to the point. Some wander and meander along, venturing here, pausing there. Some are awkward and anxious. Some are familiar and comfortable. But all, despite the variances among them, fit each kid, and that requires that I adapt. And while I am readily willing and generally able, adapting to each situation, each kid is no easy task. That, in addition to keeping twenty-some other kids engaged and moving along, leaves me wiped out by day’s end. It leaves me tired, but it’s a good tired.

And so, today we continue. We will continue to come together in an effort to put a mark on learning, a task far from perfect, for learning is hard to definitively put a finger on, but it is a task that, above all, honors the learners inasmuch as they are holding the pen. No one knows better their stories. They just need a chance to tell them. I can do that. I can give them that chance. And so I do, for if I didn’t, I would miss out on much, for their stories are lovely, imperfect, unique, beautiful, real. All I have to do is listen.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…continue conferences.

…have an opportunity to take Sentence Performance (some needed/wanted another chance).

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Thursday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.