EOG Day 1

Our lovely state has dumb ideas sometimes, especially when they're backed up by the federal government. Take state-mandated end-of-grade testing, for instance. DUUUMB.

Today was the first day of EOG testing. I walked around and stared at bubble sheets for almost four hours, whispering sweet nothings to my children all the while (think "stay focused"--"you doing alright? good."--"just breathe and you'll be okay"--"erase any stray marks for me, and then you can put your answer sheet inside your test book"--"wake up and keep going, okay?"--"make sure those bubbles are beautiful, just like a machine did them"). I don't know that I've ever been so bored in my whole entire life. Except when I was in Mr. Kuntz's Latin II class in high school, that is. I'd always assumed "bored to tears" was just an exaggeration up until that class blessed my life.

So the kids are allowed 140 timed minutes of testing, not including breaks, but the whole time we tell them "if you need more time, we'll give it to you," so we end up finishing much later than when I say the testing session has ended. What the heck is that all about? We used to have a time limit that actually limited the time! It's so counter-intuitive.

The real point of this post is an extreme celebration--I AM FINISHED WITH THE FIRST DAY OF EOG TESTING AND I DIDN'T SCREW ANYTHING UP!!! I was worried sick that I was going to cause a major m i s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n somehow (intentionally big and bold because it really is that scary), making it so that the entire school had to redo testing and we'd have to stay extra school days into the summer and I'd lose my job and the testing coordinator's job and the AP's job and all other kinds of stuff. It was a horrible feeling. But I only have two days left of scariness and I. will. be. done.

Oh dear sweet Lord Jesus, thank You that this day has finally come.

P.S. Is my neighbor Adam really going swimming right now, or is there some other occasion for his swim trunks, towel and sweatshirt ensemble? Just thought I'd throw that out there.