The Power of One Part II

So these past two weeks have been a roller coaster of excitement (NOT!).  It started on the 9th when I had to send Ms. W to the emergency room because she had such a terrible infection that she was in constant pain, but still showed up to teach.  She is always a trooper, but I knew that she needed to get better before she could come back to work.  So she was gone for Thursday and Friday.

It amazes me how I got anything done before I had her support and help every day.  Granted, I didn't have quite this group of kids to deal with in the past, but still, she is an amazing support!  I know that I depend on her for a lot of things, but it hasn't been obviously shoved in my face like it was when she was gone.  I really struggled those two days to keep it all together on my own.  The kids were feeling my stress and reacting accordingly (which means that they were trying my last nerve.)  By the end of the day Friday, I thought that I was going to collapse from exhaustion or have a nervous breakdown or do both simultaneously.

So my thought on the power of one is that this job is too hard for any ONE person to do alone.  I can manage the behavior and I can teach the academic lessons, but trying to do the two at the same time is difficult at best.  Also, I realize how much I depend on having an adult to talk to during the day to keep me sane.  We laugh and joke and encourage each other all day long.  Ms. W is ONE person in my school life that I cannot do without!  It is a terrible pity that excellent para's like Ms. W are paid such meager wages for all that they do to help the kids.  She is one of the best teachers that I have even known, even without the fancy license and degree.

The thing is, that the next week, on Tuesday the 14th, I had to go to the doctor for an ear infection and missed a day of school.  I was really worried about leaving Ms. W with the kids and a sub.  She was so great though!  She assured me that everything would be fine and that the kids would make it through the day without too many problems.  I was sure that she was right.  I have full confidence that Ms. W will keep all the balls in the air (a juggling metaphor to mix them all in together) while I have to be gone. 

I really started to think about having both of us being sick and not having our team together.  I think that the kids actually do better when I am gone than when Ms. W is gone!  I was starting to feel like the un-necessary person in my classroom.  It just goes to show, that when ONE essential person *** Ms. W*** is gone, it changes everything.  I probably need to let her know more often how much she means to me and to our students.  So this post is an homage to her!  The fabulous partner in my continuing adventures in teaching this year!

MS. W, I LOVE YOU!  YOU ARE THE BEST!!