Transitions are hard.  Transitions are exciting.  Transitions make you question every decision you have every made.

I am preparing for a major transition.  I am returning to the classroom.  I will be teaching high school English in the fall at an all boys catholic high school (that is all the details you’ll get).  I haven’t taught high school since July of 2006.  That is a long time ago (7 years if anyone is counting).

I am excited.  I am nervous.  I am anxious.  I am scared to death.

My teacher friends have assured me that it is just like riding a bike.  I am not so sure that I agree.  Not only has it been 7 years since I have taught, it has also been 7 years since I have written a lesson plan.  And, if I am honest, I have to acknowledge that I am not getting back on the same bike.  All of my high school teaching experience has been urban.  I am not teaching in a relatively affluent high school with an extremely rigorous academic program.

I’m going to be teaching novels, etc that I haven’t read or thought much about in 7 or more years.   I have 9 weeks before I stand in front of the room before 25+ eager students.  I have a lot of preparation to do.  It’s a bit like being back in graduate school and reading a novel a week.

I have been fighting the pull to return to the classroom for years and am excited that I have this amazing opportunity to return.