And the Circle is Unbroken...

I can't believe it, but some teachers are already back in the trenches! Wasn't it just the last day of school?

While I'm starting to fret over what little time I have left - I discover it is a luxurious 3 weeks compared to Clix, over at Uncomfortable Adventures, who is already teaching! I admire that she is going after student feedback right up front. A lot of teachers aren't courageous enough to do this, and yet I think it's one of the most valuable way to improve teaching and to build community with the students - as long as you stay in charge!

Mysterious Teaching is also back to school with some great thoughts on that ol' doody -er, duty - schedule (I wonder what duty I'll get this year?).

And Musings has some thoughts on getting organized. Everyone has file systems and other ways to get themselves "formatted." I like his idea about the birthdays. With 200+students through the year, I'm not sure if I'm up to it, but it would be nice to find some way to celebrate each kid's special day.

Now that I'm already starting to have the return-to-school-anxiety dreams, I figure I should start with the necessary lists.

List #1: How to Prepare for Going Back to School

1. Start waking up earlier than 8 o'clock
2. Start dressing in "outside" clothes once I DO get up early
3. Start eating a healthy breakfast for energy (not toasted waffles)
4. Collect various reference and other books from nooks and crannies around the house so I can actually start using them to plan the class
5. Actually WATCH the films I was supposed to preview for this coming year
6. Find out what the first day of school is....