NOTE: I drafted this the morning after I got the email. I read the email again the next day, and it wasn't harsh. My burn-out made me take it rougher than intended (which is a sure-fire way of recognizing burn-out, isn't it?). I replied and moved forward. Keeping it to document I was definitely more tired at the end of this year from everything.
The end of this school year was an especially tough one for me. There was more work to be done than hours in the day, and I still needed to be the husband and father my family needed when problems outside of school arose. Something had to give.
As a special ed teacher, my feet are in two worlds: Teaching and Documentation. Both are important. I'd love to leave the documentation behind, but so far that has not been my lot. When I was overwhelmed at the end of this year, I poured my energy into the teaching and not so much the documentation. Kids kept showing up in my room and I almost always lost my planning time.
I thought I managed "good enough" for a tough situation. Then I got an email while at a VBS training. My paperwork boss called me out on mistakes I made and told me I needed to improve.
It's ironic the year I threw everything into my teaching and received an award that my paperwork suffered and I got a reprimand.
My prayer is that I lean on God, He teaches from this, and pushes me on. The one time I was accused of being a poor teacher years ago, God used it to grow me to the point I'm at today (and I'm definitely a better teacher now than then). It's stressful and not fun, but corrections keeps me humble. It helps me empathize with Carrie and other people who have work place stress, too.
The students had a successful year, at least. We had a large number of kids graduate and a couple more may finish up this summer. I think I'm right where God planned for me to be. Could be for one more year, or it could be for five or twenty.
I love your honestly and humility. You are so wise. Once when I was working at a CPA firm in Delaware, I was reprimanded at my annual review for being flippant with the bosses. I had to look "flippant" up in the dictionary to see what that meant. I was so mad and immature that I applied for and got a job with another CPA firm. As I've gotten older, I've learned to accept criticism and try to learn from it to do better. But that's a huge challenge that many people never learn. It helps especially in marriage and other close relationships. Pop and I are so very proud of you, Mike! We love you!
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