Reboot

Well, it didn't happen.

Last year was my fifth year of teaching and my first year of teaching fifth grade. There were challenges (many) and successes (few), but my hope is that I learned a lot and became a stronger teacher all the while. I must have faith that this will happen one day. That I will indeed become a "better teacher" one day. I so long to do my job well.

Part of the process of improving is reflection. This, at least, I know about myself. The school year offers too little time for reflection. Between planning, teaching, communicating with parents, assessing, collaborating, and attending meetings (not to mention spending time with family and friends and taking care of my children and house), who has time to write in a journal? However, I remain committed to my desire to keep a log (or blog, as is the case) of my experiences over the course of a year). What better time to begin than in the middle of a thick, juicy summer vacation?

It is still July. Thank God. July is still summer vacation. July is only a couple of weeks, at most, away from June. July is hot, the pools are still open, the days are still long, and the berry bushes are still heavy with fruit. In July the air is still humming with mosquitoes. In July we still have family visits and weekends away to look forward to. In July I am still able to forget the day of the week and the day of the month. Because if I were to keep track, I would realize that August is fast approaching.

My former principal loved to say that at midnight on August first there was a detectable drop in air pressure on the east coast as all teachers sat up in their beds and gasped in sheer panic. School begins in August, so when August begins the end of vacation is nigh. I return to my classroom on August 1st and begin the arduous process of setting up an environment that is optimal for learning. I am moving buildings again, so I can start once more from scratch, with not much more than scratch to work with. More on that process as it unfolds.

But as it is not yet August I am still free to head upstairs and pick up a book that has nothing to do with education, and wake up tomorrow whenever I damn well please (or as late as my four year old can stand).