It’s the first day of school for yours portly.  I’m excited to start the new school year, and the whirlwind first day back is in the books.

I’m teaching three sections of United States History this year (Advanced Placement), a semester of Economics (followed in the spring semester with US Government), and my middle and high school music courses.  I’m particularly excited about the High School Music Ensemble, which is a good group of music program veterans, young and old.

Needless to say, I’m pretty worn out.  I’m still recovering from a nasty cold that struck last week, with my voice and throat tuned to a feeble croak by Saturday.  Fortunately, I recovered enough of it to make it through a marathon of syllabus overviews and classroom expectation speeches.  Combine the cold with the usual craziness of the first day of school, and I’m ready to unwind.

I wrote Saturday about the state of education today, an update from a post earlier this year.  There are many problems facing education, but a focus on our individual classrooms and students is probably the best way teachers can address these difficulties.  Indeed, a large part of my complaint in Saturday’s post is that teachers are expected to do so much beyond their little platoons.

Meatier material to come tomorrow.  Now it’s time to head home and get a bite—and unwind.