It's good to be back working with this age bracket (I haven't started yet, but I can just feel the difference already), but I'm a little weirded out by returning to my alma mater. There are actually still teachers and staff there from when I attended, and it is very hard to treat them as co-workers rather than revered elders.
Also, my gifted supervisors are my mentors from years and years back and now they want to be on a first name basis. Not going to happen.
I am excited about a new job, but it's such odd timing. I'll be out from October to January with my little one, so I'll miss just about the entire first semester of school. It's going to be hard to establish myself with such a wide gap. The pressure is on. I'm the first full time gifted teacher at the school (I think ever??), and it's my job to build the program from scratch...definitely a challenge! I hope I can step up.
Gifted education is definitely a tricky area with a lot of teachers, which I didn't realize until last year when working with teachers who had no idea what "gifted" was. It is not typically viewed as a necessary branch of special education by people who have not worked with gifted students directly. However, if you know gifted students--you know the need some special services!
I'm not sure on statistics and I did just hear this from a professor in college, but here's a little fact that scared me: A lot of the people who are homeless and are living that way without seeking help from facilities are gifted. Again, I'm not sure on the accuracy of that or what "a lot" means, but it made sense to me. People who are considered gifted are just motivated so differently from most people and are genuinely only interested in what they are interested in; you can't force them to do things just because it seems like a good idea. Then, there's also the "I'm not used to being challenged" side of things--when things get tough they might panic and not even try because they've never encountered that kind of feeling before. I can see how those factors would lead to someone living independently on the streets and in their own little world.
That was a random aside, but I always think back to hearing that when I think of people overlooking the needs of gifted students. They are a special group of people for sure. Gifted adults are a whole other conversation.
Back to mamma-hood.
I'm definitely making room for my baby girl, and I've got the proof on my belly. I've juuuust started getting little red lines around the bottom of my belly. You would know I'd make it to week 31 without any marks, and then BAM! Permanent skin stretching. Dang. She's worth it though--I'll get through it. Luckily, my husband has been great about it and is so complimentary about me that I still feel beautiful and attractive. It's like he works magic!
Today is baby laundry day! I couldn't be more excited about washing clothes. I'm going to clean out the antique dresser and let it air so I can pack it full of soft baby goodness. Also: finishing all things painted today and adding wings and eyes to our owl shelves. My Dad cut these out for us--I love them! Here's a look at the pieces I've got to work on...
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