It is the evening before the First Day of School, and I am feeling . . . relaxed? Yes, I am feeling quite free of any sort of anxiety or stress. I’ve had a great summer of being with my wife and two kids, and we spent most of that time leisurely enjoying all that summer offers: mostly sun and fun.

But, as they say, there is a time and a place for everything, and now it is time for me to return to work. While there will be less sun in the coming weeks, there will not be, for me, hopefully, any less fun. Just a different kind.

I am one of the lucky ones. I enjoy my job. It is often said that you’ll never work a day if you love your job, and that is how I feel. Yes, teaching is demanding: mentally, physically, and emotionally. But it never feels like work to me. It feels natural. And I’m glad it’s starting all over again.

This year will be my fourth year at Helen Keller Middle School, and my eleventh year of teaching. My goal this year is to enjoy it as much as I enjoyed last year, which will be a bit of a challenge because while I was happy to begin summer I was actually sad when last year ended. It was by far my best year of teaching, and the most fun. But, as I am for the first time in my entire teaching career starting a school year not only teaching in the same school but teaching in the same grade and in the same room and teaching the exact same classes, and as I am feeling after nine weeks of rest and play completely rejuvenated, I am indeed up for the challenge.

I hope to accomplish a lot this year. Quite simply, I hope to get to know all of my students, and I hope to teach them all ways to be better readers, writers, thinkers and people. I am very much looking forward to our year together.