A Teacher's Ruminations

I am an early riser. Morning is my favourite time of the day. During the school year, I'm up at 5:00 or earlier. On weekends and holidays, I cut myself a little slack and set my alarm for 5:30 or 6:00. The point is that I'm an early riser. I get my best work done in the early morning. I answer emails, write, read (mostly for my doctoral program), and assess student papers all while having my first (and usually only) cup of coffee. The house is quiet. The promise of a new and improved day is palpable. I feel at peace with myself. And, then the dogs start barking...but that's another story. During the past week, while we've been on a family vacation, I did not set my alarm or get up earlier than 8:30 in the morning. I didn't plan it this way. It just happened and I enjoyed "sleeping in". This morning was a different story. I woke up at 5:30 and felt fully awake and rested. Should I get up or just lie in bed for another hour or two? Was...

I know.  I know.  A lot of bloggers have been writing about their New Year's Resolutions.  Some even did it right before the new year and some right on the first of January.  This post might be a bit late in the stream.  A Johnny come lately, of sorts. Nevertheless, by posting my resolutions and making them public, I intend to be accountable to myself. So, I am doing this for me.  By going public, I am making a commitment to myself to carry them through. It always amazes me how easy it is to commit to something in the relative calm of a break from school.  Once I'm back in the classroom I start to fall behind.  But, I don't want to use the excuse of being too busy as a reason for not following through on my resolve. I want to build stamina so I know each resolution listed below won't become a habit right away.  I will try not to beat myself over the head if I do fall behind, which is inevitable.  I will pick myself up and...