No longer a prison. For now at least.

"for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so" Hamlet, Act II Scene 2  The first two days have been an easy re-introduction. I feel like the dread may have been a good thing. There has been much less carnage and much more productivity. Admittedly, that is because I had 6…

No longer a critic

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who…

A new beginning

I woke up late yesterday morning. The extra sleep felt good, but I did not. Nerves wracked my brains in a way that I cannot remember happening before. Not on my first day of school as a child, not at any interview, not during finals, and not even on my first day at Jafari. Or…

Blood, sweat, but no tears

Blood, sweat and tears- the markers of a true challenge, and this week has knocked two off the list. Sweat didn't take long- the stifling heat of the classroom, coupled with the stress of having no control and the exertion needed to separate the ever-present fights in my classroom have led to copious amounts of…

All the planning in the world doesn’t create a sense of control

All through institute, I started to believe that if I planned enough, and well enough, I would feel in control of my class and my classroom. But sitting in bed tonight, that feeling has been blown out of the water. School starts tomorrow, and I have a plan. In fact, I have several plans. But…