New school year (updated 1:40)

There are not a lot of things that make me nervous at my advanced age, but the first day of school is one of them. Whether I'm meeting all of my students for the first time or reconnecting with most of them, everything is new and different and unexpected. I know, it seems weird that teaching AP Calculus for the third time can feel completely different, but it is.

Honestly, this nervousness is the reason that even after doing this for 10 years(!) now, I don't find anything about it boring. The interaction between students and material is never the same from one day to the next. We all keep growing, but the kids especially change radically not only from year to year, but from month to month.

This year is especially nerve-wracking because we merged with another school, bringing in a much larger student body and faculty. This means a certain level of chaos, and I love chaos in a supposedly structured environment. We will see how it goes. I've augmented the chaos by preparing only minimally.

I'll update this as the day goes on, so check back. We're only up to the opening assembly.

I'm 3 classes in right now. Most of the day has been filled with my favorite pair of questions- where am I and what am I doing? I don't know the kids, I don't know where my rooms are, and I don't always know where to start. But I'm muddling through. More later.