"I think this place is full of spies. I think I'm ruined. Didn't anybody, didn't anybody tell you, didn't anybody tell you, this river's full of lost sharks? I know you put in the hours to keep me in sunglasses, I know. And so, and now I'm sorry I missed you, I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain. It went the dull and wicked ordinary way. It went the dull and wicked ordinary way." ~the national

Earlier this week we had our first teacher quit this year. She didn't last very long. I feel bad for her. This was her first year of teaching, and she was really sweet. I think she was Teach for America. Apparently there was a secret pool on who would be the first to quit. Mr. C said I wasn't anybody's pick, which made me feel relieved. Today was a bad day, though. It wasn't bad enough to make me quit, but it was bad enough to make me break down in tears multiple times (never in front of the kids, though). After teaching my last class of the day I walked into the teacher's lounge, and another teacher took one look at me and asked me what was wrong. I promptly burst into tears and let her wrap her arms around me. I got two hugs from the dean, a large, sturdy man who looks tough but is incredibly sweet and supportive. He told me if I think about quitting he's going to show up at my apartment and drag me to school. I had calmed myself down by the time I talked to him, but he made me start crying again by being so nice. He said I can break down and cry on his shoulder any time. I had three periods to compose myself before end-of-the-day homeroom, which I managed to do. I'm very lucky to have a strong support system at school. The other teachers are always willing to give advice or to listen or to just give me a hug. Today I didn't know who to go to first because I had so many potential people to talk to (I chose Mr. C, who is pretty much always the first person I turn to).
Today and tomorrow, we have "big shots from downtown" visiting and reviewing our school. It's very important, and we've been focused on getting ready for them for a long time. A negative review would cause very significant changes in the school. So everyone is stressed out. They didn't visit my room today, so they'll visit tomorrow. I have to be prepared to answer questions and to show them my lesson plans and the data that I've collected and I'm not at all excited about it.

On the bright side, Grey's is on tonight. Let's hope it doesn't suck.