Off we go!

 So the countdown begins.

My summer is shorter than I had planned but I will not complain of it. My duties as a teacher begin next week. Staff will begin August 11. We will have the week for a “meet and greet” for new staff members to ne introduced and a coupe of meetings to discuss expectations and last minute rule changes.

I believe DoDEA schools are structured more than most civilian schools but are not oppressive in their standards. The differences are obvious to students attending a DoDEA school for the first time though. I suppose the military environment has an influence on them.

My classes are developed and ready, including the Chinese (Mandarin) class. My influence of the class title held very little sway. It seems that "There is no language called Chinese but what they call Chinese is comprised of several hundred dialects" is unimportant. Ok. Chinese it is. The students will know they are being taught Mandarin, perhaps a little Cantonese here and there.

Staying current in my field will be helpful teaching my computer science classes. I also drew an “Advanced Quantitative Reasoning” class. It was unexpected. It may sound more complicated than it really is though. It is for students interested in non-mathematics-intensive majors in business, social sciences, or the arts. This class runs all year so I will know these students best.

School for students begins August 18 at 8 am. I am excited to begin the year. I wonder if my students are? I look forward to meeting them and discovering who my academics are or who my class clowns are. There are always both and that is good. How boring if they all were academics? How traumatic if they were all class clowns.

Fortunately, I have this week to establish our new routine and get Su accustomed to her daycare. I am eager to begin.