The Budding Optimist

Once upon a time there lived a woman for whom irony was more than just a literary term. It was a way of life. This woman turned down a teaching job making $80,000 a year because the offer was for 7th grade and she very much wanted to teach high school. So she took a job teaching high school for far less, then fell victim to budget cuts. She then had to beg every principal she could find to give her a job teaching anything.  When she finally found a job, it was for — you guessed it — 7th grade. Only for far, far less money.  That, my friends, is irony. Once upon a time, this woman was ghosted by not one, not two, but three men in a row. The world of online matching had made it impossible to find anyone who would actually show up for a date, let alone follow through when they said they'd love to see you again. But eventually, one dude did show up! He was there when and where he said he would be, and they drank some beers and discussed Life. It turned out that they had much in common

I have written up Rowan a million times this year. I sent a note on his last office referral saying, "These referrals are not working. Do you want me to keep writing him up? Or should we try something else?" The grade-level principal asked if -- for his most recent display of ridiculousness -- I wanted to give him 3 days of in-school-suspension or try a restorative conversation. I voted for the latter and came to her office a few minutes before our scheduled meeting with him. "End goals," she said. "Ideally, what do you want to happen from this?" "I don't even know anymore," I said. "I just feel like I've completely failed him." "How so?" "Because he cared so much about wanting to be a good student at the beginning of the year. And now look at him! I feel like maybe I didn't encourage him enough, or... something." "Love the self-reflection, but I don't think you can take ownership of all this beh