If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans

I started this last class late and am feeling the pressure.  I had planned on getting so much done today since my in-laws cared for my son so I could have more school time. I was looking forward to attending the web conference at 5:00 and had so many questions.  However, my mom was hospitalized and that changed everything.  Thank goodness she is much better now and is going to be kept overnight for observation.  I spent most of the day today with her at the hospital and I’m glad I did but now I’m going to try to get some things accomplished that I didn’t get to do earlier before going to bed. 

Possible change

I have been reviewing the data from my Tier I findings and I’m wondering if a new direction in my project is needed.  My project originally called to follow students through the Tier II intervention but my sample group is too small (only 2 students) and I’m finding that our school’s Tier I is still “under construction” sort of speak.  So I’m wondering… why would I move on to Tier II when we haven’t gotten Tier I under control?  Am I crazy for thinking this?!

New Learning

I had a day full of lots of wonderful learning opportunities today!  First I learned that although you follow policy, it is still a good idea to double check some things.  For instance, I used the permission slips sent out at the beginning of the year that grants permission for videotaping students for educational purposes as enough documentation of it being okay to videotape my students for this project.  When I talked to my principal before the taping began, I understood from our conversation that this was okay.  Now that I’m beginning the second part of my research project, there has been a change and I need to go back and inform the parents by phone call or in writing.  This was very confusing and frustrating because I thought we had addressed this fundamental issue of permission with the district form prior to beginning the videotaping part of this project.  This is especially confusing to me because some of my colleagues videotape students (also for educational purposes) and do not get additional permission than what is already covered by the district form.  It makes me wonder if I have to do the extra step because it is for my class instead of for the district.  I don’t know but the lesson learned was twofold: 1.) Email your principal a summary of important conversations (like this one) where important decisions are made and 2.) Don’t assume that a district form grants permission… go the extra step.