We have a new IT guy. The Prince says he’s one of the best in the district, and we’re lucky to have him. He also happens to be Plum’s dad, and I’m Plum’s teacher, so I knew he’d say yes when I asked him to help me with a computer problem.
He came before school to help me figure out why I cannot open any of the documents I wrote last year. The ones from two years ago? No problem. From this year? Again, no problem. But I’ve got a whole year’s worth of lesson plans that are inaccessible. Plum’s dad was still in the room when the kids came in. Plum’s eyes were wide. “Will my Daddy be in our room all morning?” she asked hopefully. “No,” I replied, “just for a little while.”
Right. Plum’s Daddy was in our room all morning. I felt bad for him. He was absolutely stumped. He figured out the why but he couldn’t figure out the solution. The good news was that Plum didn’t act the way I expected — she didn’t cling or cry. She was happy all morning and didn’t even seem to look his way. He was just about to give up for the day when he stumbled on a solution — “I had good luck!” he crowed — and I think my documents are back.
~~~
This afternoon I worked for almost two hours writing down the evidence from a formal observation, preparing for a post-observation conference. I saved all my work, and closed the document. Later, when I went to open it, I couldn’t find it. Then when I found it, I couldn’t open it. I nearly cried. But the media specialist figured it out for me — the computer had saved it for me under a different name.
Is it too much to ask for technology that works?
Elbows, knees, dreams 