"Memory is a net; one finds it full of fish when he takes it from the brook; but a dozen miles of water have run through it without sticking." -Oliver Wendell Holmes


Monday, August 24, 2009

Glass Half Empty - Amendments

My attitude about the beginning of the year has somewhat shifted since yesterday's post.  I will still continue to work on it, but it should be noted that I already read yesterday's writing with a bit of regret.  

I met my fresh crop of malleable brains today.  While I'm exhausted, I am pleased to say that day one went well.  My block classes are large but funny, and as we work on community building I can see that we are going to have a good year.  I hold hope for my single section and will continue to keep my fingers crossed that we'll have a better year than last year's seventh hour.  We shall see.  

There are a couple of reasons for my snark cloud lifting.  

First, I am always crabby when I'm anxious and yesterday, anxious I was.  Now that I've worked my way through that first day, the knot in my chest has loosened a bit.  

Second, I work with darn good people - better people than I, for they approached this morning with a lot more gusto than I had in me.  One of those people is my fantastic and incredibly dedicated teaching partner.  Without his instant injection of enthusiasm and genuine excitement to meet these 140 or so young people I would simply stew in my own puddle of doubt.  Thanks to him, I am instantly more enthused and ready to let go and join in the fun.   

This week is my favorite week of teaching because of the endless possibilities that each school year holds.  We have no bad habits, because habits have not yet been formed. We have no animosity, because we are all new to this game.  We talk about learning and throw around all of the idealist philosophy we've got.  And then we try.  And each year seems to get a little better.  A little more successful.  No matter what, I believe that there will be no backslide - at least not on my part.   We asked our students today what motivates them.  My answer was previous success.  Well, today was a success so I'll head toward HHS tomorrow with a little bit less of a chip on my shoulder.  

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Glass Half Empty


What happened to the girl who loved to buy a box of unsharpened pencils only to spend countless hours writing her initials with a black sharpie on each one?  The girl who liked the smell of a new textbook?  Who looked forward to paper bag lunches - balanced of course with a sandwich, a fruit and a snack?  She's gone.  I don't know where she went, but she's not here any more. 

In twenty-four hours I will be teaching third hour.  A fresh group of juniors will be about halfway through their first day of the school year.  And before I even know what has happened to me, summer will be gone.  The weather seems to have decided that it would stick it to me one more time with a beautiful and unseasonably cool weekend.  You would think this would be a good thing.  Not so.  I don't get to spend it outside at the park like I would do in an ideal world.  Instead, I'm stuck inside planning for a first week of school that I'm not thrilled about in the first place.  With an attitude that is at best....snarky....I approach this new school year.   I am working on changing this attitude, but even as I start a new year with a clean slate, I can't help but start counting down to June 9 when school lets out for another summer.