After an entire week of unpaid training, my district has officially decided I'm ready to join the league of teachers :-)

It has been a really long week, but I think overall a very productive one. While the training got a bit tedious and occasionally redundant, it definitely got my brain working in the right direction. I tried to "take the summer off" for possibly the last time ever. I say this because no teacher ever truly "takes the summer off." Sure we get a couple of months where we're not contracted to be in school, but good teachers are always always thinking about school. In fact, most of the teachers I've talked to this year spent a good portion of their summer re-vamping their strategies, doing long range planning, or re-organizing their rooms.

One of the teachers said something the other day that really struck a chord with me: Teaching is a really easy profession to do poorly. To be a good teacher takes everything you've got. Long hours before and after school. Planning and re-planning and teaching and re-teaching. Talking to angry parents and taking kids' temperatures and grading homework. There's so many pieces, so many things to remember and keep track of, and yet, there's always more you can do.

That being said...

I love my job, and I am so freakin' excited about the kids. They arrive on Wednesday, and I know that when they walk in the door, the last 3 weeks of unpaid work, stress, and occasional frustration will all seem worth it. Seriously, it's going to be a really phenomenal year.