Receiving class lists

Today was one of my favorite days: receiving class lists. I have no idea why I get so excited about it; I don't really know the kids yet. I guess it's just nice to know, though. My classes are, as of now, 33-32-30-29-30. Not bad, not great. I expect a few more to be added in the coming days, but, so far, my keeping of 36 desks in my room probably was overdoing it.

I get more excited looking at others' class lists: my former students and where they end up. My 9th graders from last year were some of the most memorable of my career, a large group of wonderful kids who I will track for years to come. I love the conversation with their new teachers: "Oh, wait until you meet Tre. He's huge but also goofy and sweet; you'll love him. Oh, and Teshae? So smart and so argumentative, but also sweet. You'll love her." (Truth be told, Tre just came up and visited from football practice, telling me how much he loved Octavia Butler's Kindred, his summer reading. I'm lucky to be around such cool kids year after year.)

One issue that may be raised in the next couple of days is why the English department seems to have become the mule of the school. For example, there are 10 sections of English I, and 13 sections of Humanities I and 13 sections of Biology I. I'm not sure why the same group of kids is being parsed so differently. My friend over in Social Studies has 109 total students. I have over 150 and so does everyone I know. It's strange.