Graduation!

Well, we finally finished the past year and a half off with graduation yesterday. It's something I was reluctant to do, but it was a nice closure to the past year and a half since everyone in our cohort participated. The actual graduation was very short - only an hour - so it left the afternoon to do other things. We met Alyssa and Sam for lunch to "celebrate" and then came home for a nap.

As glad as I am to be finished, there is a part of me that is sad. I'm certainly glad to be finished with the homework and projects and late nights and class meetings, but I did enjoy making new friends and seeing them on a regular basis. I also know that going through this process has made me a better teacher, not only because I learned new things that changed my views on how we do things in education but also because I was once again a student. It's always good to be reminded of what it feels like to sit in a class for hours or to be given assignments that seem like "busy work!" Overall, this was a wonderful experience, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It was something I wanted to do for myself, and something that no one can ever take away from me. I know that the new friends I made and even the friendships that were strengthened will continue to grow...they will just take more work now to maintain.

And so it's on from one thing to the next. Tomorrow is our first "official" day of school, although some of us have been up there so much this summer it seems like there was no break. We have professional development for 4 days, and the students come on Friday. Time again for schedules and routines and long days. But I have vowed to not stay at school this year until 6:00 every evening. We'll see how that goes! I'm off to enjoy my one last night before the craziness begins...