Day 1 of Year 9

The first day of school is both the most exciting day of the year and the most boring day of the year. It's so cool to meet all the new students and see how your classes are going to shape up, but so boring to go over the same rules and have a day that is almost completely teacher-centered.

It's also a pretty exhausting day. I've seen more people today than I have in many months, and that can be tough on the senses that have been dulled by the relaxation and relative solitude of summer. Also, in grad school, I remember a professor telling us that teachers make, on average, 10,000 decisions a day. "Should I do something about that, or let it go?," etc. So, my brain hurts a tad.

Still, it was a great day, a day that lived up to my expectations, and I'm ready to take on tomorrow.

I'll not see 10pm tonight, though. The butterflies in my stomach kept me awake off and on last night, so I'm going to try to get a full 7-8 hours tonight.

Happy First Day of School!

This marks the first day of school of my 9th year of teaching.

It should be an exciting, challenging year. I'm teaching the highest-level Seniors (IB English IV), who are taking a series of high-stakes assessments throughout the year. I'm also teaching a large load of 9th graders, a significant chunk of the largest 9th grade class in recent history at our school. I'm also doing National Board certification. And becoming a bike commuter.

Let's hope I can add blogging to the list. I do enjoy it and probably should try to write more...