two roads

:: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 :: At School Before Students Arrive

District and campus staff development started Monday. There are many more staff members at campus this year as there will be one more grade level. Many new faces.

Last year, many people called me Diana but equally as likely were my nicknames of Wu-Tang and Wu (and to a limited extent Wuhoo). From the first day of staff development now, these nicknames were established to the new staff. Many now call me Wu, which is fine and doesn't bother me, but is awkward. I find it weird for people who don't know me and whom I don't know to call me Wu. I feel that in the past, the people who call me Wu do so because we know each other and my last name is apparently fun; they do not call me Wu because others call me Wu. My team teacher from last year noticed it too - how everyone calls me Wu already. She says, with a smile, it's "like you have to earn the privelege to call [me] 'Wu'."

Another "stereotype" from last year is that I am really tech-savvy. Hilarious for those who know exactly how un-tech-savvy I am. My sister laughed and wondered why as well when I told her about this. So today, everyone anonymously wrote on index cards what they would be doing if they weren't at the school. We taped these index cards to a board and then guessed who each belonged to. There was a particular card on which someone wrote something along the lines of "I would be looking at an excel spreadsheet [and I forget what else." My table in the back was isolated and only had 3 returning staff and 1 pseudo-returner. Everyone at the table thought it was me, even when I told them it wasn't. When the reveal happened, the majority of the room's returners shouted "Wu" to indicate they thought it was me too! I laughed and kind of pounded the table with a weird look and asked everyone why, not expecting an answer. Turns out the person who wrote the card was the returning admin to my left, who had bluffed quite well.

Anyway, this year's staff seems really good. Good community and inclusive. Excited for next week to start. It will be pre-term, before we have to teach content. The focus is culture and systems. Great to get this established so it is less of a problem in the future and we can use the saved time for actual instruction.

:: posted by diana.7:35 PM :: ::

two roads diverged in a wood, and i--
i took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference.