A Teacher's Ruminations

Source:  http://www.kindredmedia.org/2013/07/the-yearly-back-to-school-push-to-vaccinate/ I t is no surprise that everyone has a hard time going back to work after a long vacation, and teachers are no different. Vacation means we get to spend uninterrupted quality time with our families and friends doing what we like to do. I n addition to enjoying a lot of unstructured time during the summer, I often participate in professional online book clubs and other self-selected professional learning activities. I know many teachers who do the same. (See  this post  for a glimpse of what I did this summer.) N evertheless, I often find myself having mixed feelings when summer break is finally over. Although I love summer because I'm on my own time and I can do with it as I wish, I love going back to school because I get to start fresh every year. I can reinvent myself and support my students as they reinvent themselves, too. Source:  https://www.pintere...

Going back to school after a long vacation is always hard. For me the winter break is particularly challenging as it's one of the few times that all five of us are together. After the holidays are over and my daughters go back to the US, it takes a few days for me to adjust to that empty feeling that invariably engulfs me wherever I turn. However, this year, I've been able to manage the shift from being with family 24/7 and no alarm clocks to spending most of my time with students and getting up early by hiding out in my classroom. Before you tisk tisk my decision, let me say that it has helped me transition back into the routine of school life. I have had two good days with my students and we have accomplished important work. Here's a list of the top five highlights of these past two days in no particular order: My 7th graders have started reading their books for our Mock Newberry Award. The teacher librarian at my school and I chose 15 books for my students to read...

Day #8 No students, yet. As an ESL teacher I spend the first two weeks of school testing and testing some more, meeting and meeting again, setting up lists, and organizing schedules, until finally I can start servicing students. This is my second year as an ESL teacher though I have been in this position a couple of times previously in my career. Last year was tough as I was new to my school and I didn't know what to do for the first couple of weeks. Everything was new and confusing. This year feels a little more familiar and I haven't stopped to take a break since I started. Still, I miss the first few days of school from when I had a class list on Day #1. I miss the smell of new supplies. I miss the eager faces of students. I miss building a community of learners. I greet familiar faces. I welcome new students. I can't wait to get started teaching for real. Soon. Soon. Soon.