Thankful Thursday post: I'm thankful for my teacher's assistant, Shannon. This morning when I got to work, my principal stopped by my classroom to chat about a new student we're getting. He also wanted to check in and just see how things are going with my current group. He made the comment "I know this classroom (alternative ed.) can be draining sometimes, so I want to make sure you both have what you need." And he's not wrong. My in-person students are middle and high schoolers who are assigned to my program almost exclusively due to disciplinary reasons. Additionally, I have almost forty virtual students whom I tutor, grade their writing work and meet on zoom each week. Someone who is a blessing to me and makes my job much easier is my TA, Shannon, so she's making a guest appearance in my blog this week (I asked her permission).  Shannon has been in my classroom for three years. Before that, she worked in another alternative ed. program for six years, an...