Back to Work

Yes, Virginia, I actually worked yesterday.  My school district needed some help with the mandatory statewide testing for English Language Learners (ELL students).  I administered the speaking portion of the test, which needs to be done one on one.  The high school I was at has close to four hundred students to be assessed.  Here's one of our rubrics.

The powers that be made me sign lots of papers that I wouldn't divulge any of the test content, so I can't tell you much about what I talked about all day long.  Suffice it to say that by the end of the testing window, I will probably be able to recite much of the test from memory.

The highlight of my day was being able to interact with the lovely high school students.  I know that's not a description many people would use to describe youngsters of that age, but they really were lovely.  They were interesting, knowledgeable, polite, and just generally energizing to be around.

By the end of the day, my throat was a bit hoarse and I had a headache.  It has been a long time since I got up and out of the house that early.  And I had to do it all over again this morning.  Oh well, I'm sure I will survive it somehow.  Most everyone else does.