National Boards Are Over!

National Board work is done. Completely. I mailed the big box with my 4 portfolio entries last week at the beginning of my spring break. I kept it in my closet for weeks before finally mailing it, as I was nervous to let it go. I kept worrying that I would pack it incorrectly, forget something important, etc. Finally, I set it free. I felt a lot better when I got a letter from National Board confirming its arrival, and I could check online and see on my screen, in real print, the words "accepted" next to each scanned entry, so I knew my babies had arrived safely.

This morning I concluded my journey with 4 hours of assessment center exercises in Fort Smith, AR, at a testing center. That was the closest location to where I live, so I traveled down there yesterday and took the day off school to focus on testing preparation. I did everything humanly possible to eliminate stress, relax, and review my notes before the "big day." I had a nice hotel room which they upgraded to a king suite. I got take out from a nearby restaurant and tried to relax. I reviewed film clips on the computer, reviewed note cards, and finally went to bed at 10 p.m. Thankfully, the hotel was quiet with no wild party next door (like on the night before my wedding!), and even though I slept a bit fitfully, I woke up feeling good. I had prayed that I would not have a migraine today, as I have had more than usual in the past month, and I had brought all my medications for any possible malady.

The tests were amazingly smooth. Thank goodness for the two nice, kind grandmother-ish ladies who were the testing administrators. They smiled, asked about my kids, talked to me about my hometown, etc. and they put me right at ease. That was good because while they were doing this, I also had to remove all traces of watches or electronics, get palm vein scanned, get my picture taken, and be padded down and pockets checked. So, it could have been really nerve wracking if the administrator had acted like a jail warden or something. The grandmas were so nice, that I almost forgot my palms were being scanned.

The tests were about what I had expected. No huge surprises. I felt prepared, and I had studied a sufficient amount. Overall, I think I did really well. I feel like I did better on a few tests than I expected, but the test that asked me to use a non-print item and connect it to a piece of prose was a bit harder than I had hoped. I nailed the explanation of the piece and actually really liked the story, but the theme was really random and specific. It was hard to think of a piece of art or song off the top of my head that fit that particular selection. So, I sat for awhile as I watched the racing clock timer on my computer screen counting down to zero (we begin with 30 minutes). After answering everything else that I could in those prompts, I had to pick something. I picked a song that I use with my 7th graders. It generally fit the theme of the written selection, but the tone wasn't exactly right. It bothered my perfectionist nature that I couldn't find "the PERFECT" song that would wow the graders. Oh well. It was good enough to pass, I think.

I found myself writing a lot about the same theme in various ways, as 3 of my 6 tests had reading or written passages that were about different texts but slightly changed versions of the same theme. So, I felt as if I were in Groundhog's Day where I kept saying the same thing over and over. I found myself using the word "metaphorically" a lot. I was able to work in my favorite word, too. Anaphora. So, that made me happy.

When the last test was over, I was typing the last letter to my last word right as the timer counted down "4, 3, 2, 1, 0" -- the screen turned blank as my finger hit the last letter. I didn't even get my period in. I think I had a couple typos in that last paragraph since I didn't have time to proofread. Oh well, I don't think they count typos, and my content felt good.

I'm not sure if I feel relief yet. It will probably take a couple of weeks. I have lived with this in my mind for 12 solid months now. It will take a bit of time not to automatically think about national boards. So, the waiting begins. November seems like a long time from now, but I'm sure it will be here before we know it.

I am praying I get to see the word "Congratulations . . . " on my computer screen on that day!