Today was my first day as a teacher.

I don't feel any different (maybe more tired), but I hope this is the beginning of something wonderful.

The day was chaotic, but the kids were awesome. Being the first day, they were on their best behavior.

It is nice to go into a new school where none of the teachers know the students- no one has made any judgments, the slate has been wiped clean.

Not many of the students know each other, either, since they came from all different places. Everything is fresh and new.

I have no idea how I'm going to learn all 270 of my students' names. Yikes. I have no idea how I'm going to keep the hundreds (and hundreds) of pieces of paper organized.

I heard many things I wasn't expecting- things that reminded me that I am teaching in the heart of the city, that many of these kids have many obstacles to face outside of my classroom. I also heard things that reminded me that kids are kids, no matter where they are.

All in all, a good day that gave me a lot to consider.

Hope you had a lovely Labor Day. Rich and I had a great day off, in which we, um, worked. Rich has a paper and a presentation due today, and so he spent most of the weekend knocking that out. I, on the other hand, am trying my best not to make a fool of myself on the first day of school. So, I worked on lots and lots of school-y things.

I also ran a bajillion dumb errands and during my ample waiting times, I read. I finished two books this weekend, both of which were about dysfunctional families. Hooray!

The first was The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. This is a memoir of Wall's life, and it basically reads like a manual on how NOT to raise children. In the first page, adult Walls sees a homeless woman on the street and realizes it is her mother. Walls does a good job of not condemning her parents and, instead, lets the reader make up his or her own mind about the parents. This was a totally enjoyable read, though sad and haunting. There are several images from this book that I will never forget.

The second was The God of War by Marisa Silver. This is the book our town is reading together this year. (Yes, our town essentially has a town-wide reading group. My sister says we live in Stars Hollow.) The book follows Ares, a pre-teen boy, as he helps care for his developmentally disabled brother, as he learns how to relate to his free-spirited mother, and as he negotiates his small town's social life. All in all, this was a good read, though, again, sad and angsty. This book made me glad I am not a teenager anymore. (Not that my teen years were anything like what is described in this book.)

I'd recommend them both!

Yesterday was my first day of professional development at my school site. Right after lunch, we took a tour of the whole campus, and when we got back to our building, there were flowers waiting for me in the office.

That's right- my parents sent me flowers for my first day of school. They might be a wee bit excited.

It was a great day all around (though quite long), and it made me even more excited for the great year ahead!