Like a ship into the night...

So I'm trying to get an article published in a professional teaching journal. I could go on minimizing this (it's just a small yearly journal, teacher reviewed, small publication, etc.) but I won't. My principal, who read the draft before I sent it, told me this: "You don't give yourself enough credit." So here goes: it is a big deal!

I find it a big deal, because I chose to write about something very personal - my teaching. I've always maintained that teaching is incredibly personal. I'm reminded of the scene in Julia Roberts' movie Eric Brokovich, where she is freaking out at her boss. She comes back after being sick and finds new lawyers taking over the case. Her boss (played by Albert Finney) tells her "Its not personal", prompting Erin to yell:

NOT PERSONAL! That is my WORK, my SWEAT, and MY TIME AWAY FROM MY KIDS! IF THAT IS NOT PERSONAL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195685/quotes?qt=qt0266026

I feel that way about teaching all the time. Here, I have taken this personal - made it more personal by writing about it - then sent it off into the unknown. I'm now in the limbo period of waiting to hear back - will they like it? Will they like me? Did I do good?

Waiting can be brutal...

Now I'm searching for a personal connection to my teaching... as is often the case - perhaps I need to mark things more quickly? Is the waiting as excrutiating for the kids as it is for me?

Like a ship into the night, my work has been sent off. And now I wait.

M.