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It seems to always take me a couple of weeks to regain a sense of routine when school begins again. I seem to adapt to getting up early and going to work, but by the end of the day, I seem drained. It's entirely too easy to fall into a lazy routine during those free days in the summer.

The beginning of this school year is no exception. We voted at the end of the last school year to switch back to a seven-hour day. My first year in the district, we had a straight block schedule. It sometimes felt overwhelming, but having student-taught in a school with block scheduling, I transitioned well into the routine. The proceeding years were a hodge-podge of variations on modified block scheduling. Some of my classes were 50 minutes long and met everyday while others met every other day for 90 minutes. When the schedule meant that I saw my sophomores for 50 minutes everyday and my seniors for 90 minutes, it worked well, and it made sense. Last year, the schedule was so discombobulated, it was as if I had three preps rather than two. I looked forward to the seven-hour schedule. It was something with which I was familiar from my own high school days.

There is a distinct difference between being a student with a seven-hour schedule and a teacher with a seven-hour schedule.

When I came home on Monday and Tuesday of this week, I felt completely wiped out. I sat down in my chair and didn't move for about an hour and a half. Good thing the Olympics are on still this week because I couldn't even motivate myself to pick up a book. Yesterday wasn't too bad and today, I feel slightly better.

I feel like I'm performing a 6-ring circus, especially with my planning period at the beginning of the day. I'm beginning to wonder what the rates of kidney and bladder infections are like among teachers.

I know eventually I'll settle into a comfortable motion of routine with this new schedule, but it certainly makes me wonder how MY teachers did it all when I was in school.

The Purple Marking Pen

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