I usually get to school around 6:30 am every day. At this time it is pretty much guaranteed that I am the only person walking the second floor where I have been situated now for almost 11 years. Within an hour, this same hallway will be swarming with teen angst. A diverse cross section of humanity waiting for the day to begin, waiting to see what the day will deliver. Sitting next to their lockers, they talk about their day, their classes, their friends and the weekend. As crazy as it sounds, the energy that the kids give off is infectious. That is why working in a high school is the best job you could ask for.
Truly the calm before the storm.
The walk into the building.
The Zen Hiker 
I agree. The difference I notice about being older and closer to retirement (yay!) is that I’m so tired at night. I don’t have kids to drive to and fro anymore but there are still lessons to write, emails to follow up on and all the stuff we just don’t have time to do during the day.
This sounds mushy, but the working with my particular population of students is so rewarding because I feel that we don’t just make a difference in their academic lives, but it their families’ lives as well, which impacts their academic lives. I found out 2 days ago that one of my students, who has been my student for 2 years now, has very little heat in their apartments (landlords can be horrible) and can’t afford to buy blankets. They have some flimsy ones but not sufficient for her parents (who work two jobs), the baby and her. We were able, as a department and with the guidance counselors help, to get them comforters, baby blankets and some other winter clothes.The counselors called the landlord and got the heat taken care of.
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I hit send too soon. Oops. The point I’m trying to make is that so many teachers in our district do similar things. We don’t just teach for our 42 minutes per class, we try to help the whole family. I know that you do that and have done so for many years. That, to me, is the icing on top of the cake of the energy we get from the students. Even at my age they help build my character as I know that you and others like you help to build theirs. Too many typos in the comment above that I didn’t re-read before sending. Oops again.
As usual, awesome photos. I love your blog.
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Thanks for the comments! I agree-Many people think that we have a kid in class and then it ends there. Nothing could be further from the truth! And that is the reason why our kids trust us because they know that we really care (speaking about getting mushy!)
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I like mushy.
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You know me-I don’t do mushy very well!!!
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