Can a school day last 18 hours?, because that’s what today felt like. Every so often at my school, Tuesdays get cut short for the kids (each class is 5 minutes shorter, and homeroom is nixed) who get to scurry home at 2pm. Of course, what’s good for the goose is not always good for the gander. On days like today, all teachers have to go to their professional development groups from 2:30-5pm. Mine is a group for new faculty.

But yeah, the day seemed really, really, really, really long, because of that. The kids were off schedule, I was off schedule, and each subsequent period I felt like I was just trying to catch up from the period before.

One of the worst things happened during my first two classes, which put a really horrid spin on the day: the smartboard didn’t work. The projector had overheated. I know I should be able to cope without the smartboard, but I had such a good lesson on logs for one class, and I was teaching hard new material to the other class.

And I failed miserably in the second class. I should have just scrapped my lesson plan and taught the material off the top of my head. But instead, I emailed my students a pdf of my smartboard presentation and we tried to work off of that.

Worst. Idea. Ever.

I should have just taught the material off the cuff. It would have been less discombobulated, less forced, less confusing. Basically, I am scrapping the lesson to the bin of failed lessons, and reteaching it our next class.

Technology, sometimes I think I love you more than you love me.