Hooray For ME! (Announce your victories both large and small here!)

[spork]

I seem to have successfully transferred the economic stimulus payment my wife and I received in the form of a stupid debit card to my checking account. My wife's last name on the card was wrong (it was my name). The two banks we use both said "Oh, we can't cash this out and put the money in your account for you." There is one in-network ATM nearby; we'd have to make multiple trips there, only one trip per day, to get the money off the card. My sister-in-law got her stimulus payment in the form of a paper check, which she took to her bank and deposited.

Which one of Trump's cronies owns the company that supplied the debit cards?

[traductio]

Jobs! Grants! Fixed lawn mowers! Yay to all! (I'm envious of you handy people.)

My exciting news is that today I got an advance book contract. I'm wary of sharing in other places because things are tough for so many people. But I'm very glad to share with you.

Also, I've now heard from two students in the last class I taught, which I've taught many times but this time rebuilt from the ground up, that they were inspired by the material. Every teacher loves to hear that.

[Cheerful]

Jobs! Grants! Fixed lawn mowers! Yay to all! (I'm envious of you handy people.)

My exciting news is that today I got an advance book contract. I'm wary of sharing in other places because things are tough for so many people. But I'm very glad to share with you.

Also, I've now heard from two students in the last class I taught, which I've taught many times but this time rebuilt from the ground up, that they were inspired by the material. Every teacher loves to hear that.

Congrats on the book contract, traductio!  Fabulous news.  Please feel free to share with others -- share the joy, create joyful ripple effects!

Kind of those students to share that with you. 

Celebrate that book contract!

[Wahoo Redux]

Jobs! Grants! Fixed lawn mowers! Yay to all! (I'm envious of you handy people.)

My exciting news is that today I got an advance book contract. I'm wary of sharing in other places because things are tough for so many people. But I'm very glad to share with you.

Also, I've now heard from two students in the last class I taught, which I've taught many times but this time rebuilt from the ground up, that they were inspired by the material. Every teacher loves to hear that.

You are my monomythic hero/heroine.

W00T many times over!!!!

[apl68]

Congratulations!

[the_geneticist]

Spring grades are in!  This has been the longest spring term ever (and we're on the quarter system).

[mamselle]

This may seem small, but it's a big deal in a way.

The ADHD student for whom I do homework mentoring has progressed from having me scribe for him to taking notes for himself. (I sort of tricked him into it today, but he stuck with it for nearly 40 minutes before asking if I were taking notes as well.)

We also managed to work through his fear of thunder (small storm passing through): he went to the basement, put a blanket over his head, and pulled the blanket over the laptop so we could see each other and continue working.

And we have made a lot of progress in how he does his work; he's gone from procrastinating on each step until I help with it, to following through and getting parts of his work done in advance.

I have to prompt him a lot (that was my learning curve; his condition includes a kind of instantaneous "forgetting" that things exist, so that, for example, he can't walk to school alone because he'd wander out into the street without remembering about cars...so my texts to him include reminders about what step of the work we're on and when I would like to see it) which I usually don't do, because I want to encourage independent work.

But by backing up and meeting him where he is (which is further back, developmentally, than the music work we also do together) we've started to move forward towards that goal as well.

I'm bemused and pleased by what seems like a growing experience for both of us....and grateful.

M. 

[Cheerful]

This may seem small, but it's a big deal in a way.

The ADHD student for whom I do homework mentoring has progressed.....

I'm bemused and pleased by what seems like a growing experience for both of us....and grateful.

M.

Wow, mamselle.  What compassionate, meaningful, priceless, selfless contributions you are making to this student's life.  Thanks for sharing these heartwarming, inspirational victories and thanks for improving life for others.

[smallcleanrat]

This may seem small, but it's a big deal in a way.

The ADHD student for whom I do homework mentoring has progressed from having me scribe for him to taking notes for himself. (I sort of tricked him into it today, but he stuck with it for nearly 40 minutes before asking if I were taking notes as well.)

We also managed to work through his fear of thunder (small storm passing through): he went to the basement, put a blanket over his head, and pulled the blanket over the laptop so we could see each other and continue working.

And we have made a lot of progress in how he does his work; he's gone from procrastinating on each step until I help with it, to following through and getting parts of his work done in advance.

I have to prompt him a lot (that was my learning curve; his condition includes a kind of instantaneous "forgetting" that things exist, so that, for example, he can't walk to school alone because he'd wander out into the street without remembering about cars...so my texts to him include reminders about what step of the work we're on and when I would like to see it) which I usually don't do, because I want to encourage independent work.

But by backing up and meeting him where he is (which is further back, developmentally, than the music work we also do together) we've started to move forward towards that goal as well.

I'm bemused and pleased by what seems like a growing experience for both of us....and grateful.

M.

mamselle, you're the kind of teacher I aspire to be.

[mamselle]

Thanks.

M.

[traductio]

This may seem small, but it's a big deal in a way.

The ADHD student for whom I do homework mentoring has progressed from having me scribe for him to taking notes for himself. (I sort of tricked him into it today, but he stuck with it for nearly 40 minutes before asking if I were taking notes as well.)

We also managed to work through his fear of thunder (small storm passing through): he went to the basement, put a blanket over his head, and pulled the blanket over the laptop so we could see each other and continue working.

And we have made a lot of progress in how he does his work; he's gone from procrastinating on each step until I help with it, to following through and getting parts of his work done in advance.

I have to prompt him a lot (that was my learning curve; his condition includes a kind of instantaneous "forgetting" that things exist, so that, for example, he can't walk to school alone because he'd wander out into the street without remembering about cars...so my texts to him include reminders about what step of the work we're on and when I would like to see it) which I usually don't do, because I want to encourage independent work.

But by backing up and meeting him where he is (which is further back, developmentally, than the music work we also do together) we've started to move forward towards that goal as well.

I'm bemused and pleased by what seems like a growing experience for both of us....and grateful.

M.

mamselle, you're the kind of teacher I aspire to be.

Hear, hear. That is some fine work you are doing, meaningful in ways that will be felt farther than you expect.

[apl68]

Congratulations on what sounds like a well-earned teaching victory!

[monarda]

What a great collection of victories!

Mine is a bittersweet one.
Mid-April, I learned that one of my favorite high school teachers passed of Covid-19. She was 93. Back last fall, I learned that the department where she got her master's degree before she started teaching is the very same department where I worked from 1997-2004. So I wrote her a note last fall to close that loop, and tell her how much she inspired me.

In today's mail I received a handwritten note from her daughter. She said that her mother had kept my letter in her desk drawer. So it meant a lot to her. I am so very glad that I sent that to her. Her daughter says she comes and visits my city every year, and she hopes we can hang for a coffee or a beer on her next visit.

Oh, and we cleaned the garage!!

[mamselle]

So glad you got to connect with her and that she received it as it was meant. I got to thank a couple of my significant HS instructors, but missed reaching a couple of others before they died, and I've always been a little sad I didn't get to tell them how much their work had meant to me.

And, yea! for the garage...that's no small victory at all!

M.

[nonsensical]

Monarda, what a sweet story. I'm glad her daughter wrote to you, and that you sent your original note.

My lab had a paper accepted! A paper that represented a new research direction for us and was a difficult set of data to collect. We also had a paper rejected, and I'm grateful for the glut of acceptances that made that rejection feel small.