Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Nothing to Fear
So today the school year begins. As I type these words, I am looking out my window. The rosy glow of twilight is just settling across the city skyline. In my old apartment, I did not have an eastern view, so I could never really gauge how bright it actually is around 6 in the morning a few weeks before the official start of autumn. If this post seems to verge on the sentimental, I apologize in advance. I slept fitfully last night, waking up around half a dozen times between turning off the Republican national convention coverage and waking up to the BBC. (Ah, British news coverage, how much I've missed ye!)
Now I'm here sitting at the computer, finishing a boal of wheaties and listening to Billy Joel sing "Say Goodbye to Hollywood." Technically, these next few days should not be particularly stressful as there will be no students in the building. Nonetheless, my stomach has tied itself into several very convincing knots over the past few days. Although I now know my schedule will consist of 5 general physical science classes (all ninth grade), i still have yet to receive the long-promised core curriculum beyond a scope and sequence informing me that in addition to chemistry and physics, I will need to teach earth science and astronomy. In addition, all of my lesson plans from last year will need to be adapted from the 1.5 hr. to 1 hr. period. And part in parcel with that is the knowledge that if I screw up early in the year there will be no mid-year respite with a switch in classes. Oh no. I'm stuck with my students the whole year through...or they're stuck with me, depending on whether I'm feeling terrified or vengeful.
Yup, the end is nigh. Nigh, I tells ya. One has to wonder whether having summer off only makes you miss it more when you go back to school. It also may make the three regular readers of this blog wonder if I will continue with the more happy-go-lucky/whimsical postings that characterized the past few weeks. My hope is yes. I have at least one more on the backburner, a long delayed review of The Manchurian Candidate. Here's hoping I get that up by the end of the week.
Until then, keep fighting the good fight. I know I'll be trying.
So today the school year begins. As I type these words, I am looking out my window. The rosy glow of twilight is just settling across the city skyline. In my old apartment, I did not have an eastern view, so I could never really gauge how bright it actually is around 6 in the morning a few weeks before the official start of autumn. If this post seems to verge on the sentimental, I apologize in advance. I slept fitfully last night, waking up around half a dozen times between turning off the Republican national convention coverage and waking up to the BBC. (Ah, British news coverage, how much I've missed ye!)
Now I'm here sitting at the computer, finishing a boal of wheaties and listening to Billy Joel sing "Say Goodbye to Hollywood." Technically, these next few days should not be particularly stressful as there will be no students in the building. Nonetheless, my stomach has tied itself into several very convincing knots over the past few days. Although I now know my schedule will consist of 5 general physical science classes (all ninth grade), i still have yet to receive the long-promised core curriculum beyond a scope and sequence informing me that in addition to chemistry and physics, I will need to teach earth science and astronomy. In addition, all of my lesson plans from last year will need to be adapted from the 1.5 hr. to 1 hr. period. And part in parcel with that is the knowledge that if I screw up early in the year there will be no mid-year respite with a switch in classes. Oh no. I'm stuck with my students the whole year through...or they're stuck with me, depending on whether I'm feeling terrified or vengeful.
Yup, the end is nigh. Nigh, I tells ya. One has to wonder whether having summer off only makes you miss it more when you go back to school. It also may make the three regular readers of this blog wonder if I will continue with the more happy-go-lucky/whimsical postings that characterized the past few weeks. My hope is yes. I have at least one more on the backburner, a long delayed review of The Manchurian Candidate. Here's hoping I get that up by the end of the week.
Until then, keep fighting the good fight. I know I'll be trying.
