T minus two weeks and counting…not that anybody’s counting, of course. It is Wednesday, I’m in Starbucks and feeling in a
very reflective mood. The math department has three brand new teachers this year, and although I will miss William, Prince, and Raul greatly (luckily, Raul is only moving downstairs as our new dean!!!), it is exciting to meet some new teachers, ready and willing to tackle the challenge of these kids and the challenge of teaching!

For lunch, the department went out to a brand new restaurant on the corner of Vermont and 22nd, a place called “Caveman” Rotisserie Chicken. The name had intrigued us a week ago when we passed by it on our bus tour, and after 15 minutes of trying to remember where it was located today, we finally found it.

The food was alright, but what struck me more was the fact that I can remember being in the exact place of these new teachers only 3 short years ago. Out at lunch with a new math department, ready and excited to begin, asking tons of questions of everybody I could. Wow….how quickly 3 years has come and gone. In a way, working with all these new teachers has made me feel possibly older than I’ve ever felt before, older than when I graduated grad school, older than when I’ve attended all these weddings of my friends, older than knowing my younger sister will be married within the month. It’s also been fairly interesting trying to figure out how to communicate with new teachers my honest opinions about some of the district policies and mandates without jading them. :)