Mulling It Over

Today was my first day back to school with all of my students. I always forget, every year, how tiring it is to teach. Talking and walking around all day is tiring. One of the benefits and disadvantages of my job is that I have the same students every year. For today, it was exciting to see all the students and catch up. Some had really good summers and some didn't. So it goes. My classes are capped at 12 students and most of them are almost full. It will be an interesting year.

Like last year, I'm taking my lunch every day, except for Grilled Cheese day. Grilled cheese day happens once a month and this month it's on Thursday. I try to take all my snacks too and avoid the snacks in the resource room and in the vending machines. This not only saves calories, it saves tons of money. It amazes me that people eat the lunch in the cafeteria. It is convenient, but also expensive and 99% of the time really bad for you. A lot of teachers are unfortunately over weight. It sets such a horrible example for our students. I try to encourage my students to bring snacks with them to school and drink out of reusable water bottles. Most of the students I've had for a few years now remind the new students about my recycling policies and that they do not want to throw paper, plastic or cans in the trash. That makes me feel pretty darn good.

One really good thing about this year is that I'm going to get to car pool a few days a week with the counseling intern in my program. This is awesome for so many reasons: 1. It's obviously better for the environment and will reduce two carbon footprints. 2. It will make the 45-minute commute way more enjoyable. 3. On some days I won't have to drive at all, which will give me a much needed break.

So here is to a good year. I'm trying hard to have a positive attitude. I don't always like my job, but I always want my students to think that I do.