Another Nudge ....

I received yet another nudge from the Universe yesterday!!

Borders Bookstores are having a teacher appreciation weekend and they are offering 25% off of your purchase to all current and retired teachers ... so Tom and I decided to go take advantage of that lovely offer!!

At the front of the store there was a table set up for teachers to sign up for a drawing of some sort. Two employees were standing there setting up the table and getting it ready for the expected onslaught of teachers throughout the weekend. They asked me if I was a teacher and I said that, yes, I am a retired teacher. One of the employees looked at me curiously and asked where I used to teach. I told her Lewisville High School and The Colony High School. She did not look familiar to me. But she kept on ... asking me what subject I taught. I said Math ... and her face lit up and she said "I did have you!! I remember you!! You taught me Algebra II the last 9 weeks of my senior year .... after I had already failed it twice ... and I needed it to graduate!!"

She then went on to tell everyone within earshot how much she enjoyed being in my class and what a great Math teacher I was. She was so excited to see me again! Truly a teacher appreciation event for me!!

She even mentioned that she and her group of friends had been talking about Math education a couple of weeks ago ... and she had even mentioned me to her friends, but she couldn't remember my name ... just what a good teacher I was. I told her I was probably Ms. Khan then and her face lit up again!! (I just love it when that happens! It's like the "lightbulb" moment a teacher lives to see on her student's face!)

My husband is listening to all of this conversation and finally tells her to ease up because I already had such a "big head"! I told her to keep it up because I needed all the affirmations I could get! I then told her about how we are filming this DVD and putting all my money into it and how I hope it will be a success.

She asked what the DVD was about and I told her that it was for helping students who fail the Exit Level TAKS Math Test. The other employee then asked if Borders would be selling them? And they both asked how we would be marketing them?

I told them we planned to sell them online, but if I could sell them through Borders, that would be awesome!!! Well .... it turns out ... that my lovely ex-student who thinks I am wonderful is .... THE CORPORATE AND EDUCATIONAL SALES REP. for Borders!!!

She seemed to think we would be able to sell them through not only the Borders in Lewisville, but also in the DFW area .... and if they do well ... then maybe in Borders across the state!!

Is that not the most awesome nudge from the Universe??

We hope to finish filming the DVD this week and I need to be sure the booklet is ready to go to the printer. This is becoming reality ... and it is nervewracking, but also really exciting!!

I have also had two seniors contact me this week ... girls who have not passed the Exit TAKS Math Test and need to pass it by May if they want to graduate. We have less than 4 weeks until their next chance to take it. I am going to use my new test booklet with them and see how it goes!! I met one young lady yesterday and I think she will be okay. I will meet the other one this afternoon. I really hope I can help her.

Otherwise, tutoring is going great guns!! I now have 29 hours a week booked up ... and will soon begin to do small groups as these students bring their friends and classmates along for extra help, too. For groups, I charge more per hour, but less per student .... which helps all involved!! I'm liking it!!

Filming Continues ...

We started back filming the DVD this weekend. Tom and I have spent the last two weeks putting together the 100 new questions we are going to use and working on the graphics and dividing the 100 questions into 10 mini-tests. Then we had to be sure all the questions had solutions and recheck to be sure all the solutions were correct .... and we emailed Tests back and forth ...

Tom has been a BIG help!! He is a WORD Wizard!!

The 10 Mini-Tests which we have created each have one problem from each of the 10 objectives. I am hoping that will be a good selling point.

So we started filming all over again on Saturday morning .... we managed to get through 9 of the problems before we received a phone call that one of Tom's best friends, John Smith, had collapsed and died suddenly. We had just been out with him and his wife on Friday night. He was only 52. They had only been married for a couple of years .... they had just bought a home. Life is precious and short. Treasure those you love.

We went to the hospital and then to his home and waited until Marsha's family members began to arrive. Tom and I will be helping her as much as we can. We are planning to have a wake to honor his life .... he didn't want a funeral. This is all so sad ....

So .... Bob the film guy came back today and we managed to get through about 1/2 of the problems by the time we finished today. Bob now has 2 weekends off for Spring Break and he is going to Florida ... and we hope to finish the filming on the last weekend in March.

Then Bob has to do all the editting of the DVD .... yet we are still on track for a May 15th release.

However .... now we need to also publish the Test Booklet. Geez .... just to get it printed will cost as much as making the DVD ... at least according to KINKOs .... dang TEA .... but we can do it ...

Onward!!