Peppler’s Classroom Blog

It’s Labor Day as I post this. My wife and I have just returned from Ottawa State Rec. Area (Kettle Moraine South) where we gave our boys (Zachary, 6, and Alex, 2) one last hurrah at the beach before school starts for Zachary and me. It’s been a good summer, a busy one, but it’s always bittersweet to see another one disappear.

I am nervous and excited about tomorrow. I don’t feel completely ready, but I never do–not after 13 years of teaching! Mostly, I just want to meet my new students. I know that, despite the awkwardness of the first couple of days, we will get to know each other quickly, get to work quickly, and feel very comfortable before long.

I think of the empty desks sitting in my dark classroom right now. Who are these young people who will fill them? What do they expect of me and the class? What do they expect of themselves? How can I make them understand that what I want, more than anything, is for them to grow as human beings during this coming year, to stretch themselves further than they have, to explore not only the world around them but the world inside their own hearts and minds?

And so another summer ends, but a journey takes its place.

Here we go…