Sunnygrins.com

      I'm a 38-year-old teacher of 6th graders.  Yes, I said it out loud:  I teach sixth graders.  Or rather, I show up to my classroom on a daily basis and try not to let things get TOO out of control.  My daughter, who's 17 going on 25, says I'm letting my particularly unruly class get to me too much this year.  But she doesn't have to deal with Kiernan, Monica, Nikki, or Tony.

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    Anyway, I've taught school for 15 years, in the same building where I got my first teaching job at the tender age of 23.  Just out of college, practically dewy-eyed at the prospect of affecting young, impressionable minds.  Fortunately, my principal (at that time) was still invested enough in the actual education of children that she forgave me a lot of my early pratfalls, apparently seeing in my earnestness some promise of a good teacher in the making.

 

        But this year is a bit of a conundrum.  I thought I had grown into a pretty good teacher.  I use collaborative work groups in my classroom when I can;  I pose questions to my students to get them to think critically and ask their own questions;  and I work hard behind the scenes to plan meaningful lessons and give solid feedback about the work my students do. 

 

    And then Gary Morris came into the picture.  He's an assistant principal, demoted from an area high school and reassigned to us, a mere middle school.  There's not as much acclaim or pay associated with being in a middle school, so I have to wonder why he's here?  And then, there's the part about his not liking anything I do.  He even criticized my timing in handing out index cards for an activity I had planned.  On a formal evaluation, no less!  People outside the profession probably don't understand how serious that is, but his evaluation of me determines in large part whether I keep my job.  So I guess you could say things are pretty stressful for me right now.

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    But then, I got the idea to start my own online magazine, and here you have it:  SunnyGrins!  I love to write, so I decided to create a platform for my writing.  And to offer that platform to others.  So if you have something you'd like to share, you can do it here.  I'll post it on the Visitor's page for one month for a small fee.

 

   My daughter thinks my online enterprise is pretty funny, but I'm thinking that I'll have the last laugh.  People enjoy humorous writing, and most of my stuff has an underlying edge to it.  Don't forget to check out my Musings page, especially if you hate shopping as I do, or have a particularly obnoxious ex-boyfriend.

 

     Anyway, enjoy my new online magazine, and don't forget to write to me with any thoughts you have for how I can improve it.  Or questions you have for me, about anything!

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   Cheers!

 - Wendy