Not really anything new to report other than school continues to be extremely demanding and not the happiest of all places. I feel like it is beginning to not be a very positive place. So many expectations and very little positive feedback. I am confident my students are where they need to be. However, I don't really get much feedback on how well they are doing. The only feedback I get is why I am not teaching Saturday tutorials, or why I am not differentiating, or why I am having them do a writing assignment, etc (Remember writing isn't state tested in the 5th grade, therefore, writing should not really be taught according to superiors. I really wish I could do projects with them and more authentic instruction instead of continuously teaching test taking strategies... I should be hired by Kaplan. One of the fifth grade teachers on our team, who I get along with really well, was removed from her classroom and sent to teach elsewhere and was replaced by another corps member, just creates a lot of awkwardness. I feel she was unfairly removed and not really given the chance to turn things around in her room, she's only a first year TFA teacher!

I am excited for Christina to come and visited for Thanksgiving break... I have a HUGE pile for her to file and many little classroom projects just waiting for her to arrive and complete them.