Vanderhoof

Today was a field trip to Vanderhoof to meet with our E Bus teachers and turn in school work for grading. One of the main teachers was away to a conference in Edmonton, but I left some fat folders stuffed with the kids' work and an update sheet detailing what they have all been up to. In some ways it was a waste of a day in that nothing in terms of schoolwork got done. On the other hand, it is good for the teachers to put a face to a name and it keeps the kids connected with an outside accountability source.

My neighbor and her son came with us today. They are also doing the E Bus program, and one of the things she mentioned is that in a way we are being graded too. It's true. You can't get away from the idea that when you start using an outside source to whom you report, it isn't just the kids who are getting a mark -- their primary teacher (me) gets one too, vicariously.

One of the things I find most frustrating about this whole process is that I like to do everything I do thoroughly and well. It's impossible to do that with this many kids though. So my grade won't be as good as I would have liked it to be.