Back to the Daily Grind

Well, I am officially back at Adult Ed as of last week. And it is definitely strange being back - especially since we are in a different situation. We moved classrooms and downsized; not only downsized the materials we use, but our staff downsized too. Since we have lost a portion of our students, a smaller staff is, in some ways, a blessing. It is now rare that I have enough work to keep busy all day - although mainly because mornings are generally quiet until 11am. Afternoons have, thankfully, been pretty busy. We have had a decent number of former students return and we have even had a group of new students come in.

Despite the slowness, there have been a few exciting moments. One of my favorite students (who has been coming the entire time I have been here) was retested in math and language. The last few times we have tested her her scores have gone down or stayed the same - which has been very frustrating and discouraging to her. But on Monday, I retested her in math...her score went up! Yesterday we tested her in language...not only did her score go up, but she tested out of the level she was in! She was just beaming and she couldn't wait to go home and tell her family how she had done!

In other good news, Duane is back! For those of you who have forgotten, or maybe you didn't follow this blog last fall, Duane was a short term volunteer who came for two months to work in Adult Ed. In his time here, he kind of adopted Paul and I as his "Kentucky grandchildren." He migrated south for the winter, but since he loved it here so much he came back to spend the spring in Kentucky. And it is great having him back. We have continued our tradition of doing crossword puzzles together, so my vocabulary is getting whipped back into shape!

Tomorrow, Duane is giving me a ride to Louisville, where I will catch a bus to Chicago to go visit Bekah! I am very excited about a long weekend with my sister in the windy city, although slightly hesitant about taking the bus (I've never taken a greyhound bus before...). I've heard a few horror stories in the last few days, but I am optimistic that it can't be that bad. After all, the bus ride only lasts for six and a half hours. I may take the advice to not make eye contact and avoid smiling though...

Anyway, I hope everyone has had a good holy week and that Easter will be a blessed time to celebrate and reflect on the sacrifice of our savior.

Peace.