The days of summer have passed all too quickly, as they always do, and the days of new backpacks, empty notebooks and sharp pencils are upon us.  Students wonder who will be in their classes and who their teachers will be; teachers make seating charts, decorate rooms, and update lesson plans.  The anticipation and anxiety are palpable as the first day of school approaches.

As a student, I always loved going back to school.  It meant seeing friends again after a summer that often kept us country kids apart.  The first day of school in September was our reunion, a chance to catch up with each other and continue the adventures cut short in June.  I also loved getting back into the classroom and learning new things, though trigonometry was a notable exception.

As a middle school teacher, I started having nightmares about school mid-August.  These were always about an imaginary class that was out of control. It was a relief to wake up.  I knew those dreams were just my pre-game jitters working themselves out. Once school began, I loved working with my students and learning from them.  What wonderful days those were!

As a parent, I found my child’s first day of school filled with anxiety. Seeing your baby go out into the world and knowing that you won’t be there to soften every bump along the way is one of the hardest things about parenting.  The first day of kindergarten was especially difficult for me.  My little one happily bounced onto the bus, found a seat, and gave me a smile and a wave, but I was in puddles as the bus pulled away. My first child was talkative, so I got to hear a blow-by-blow of each day’s events, but my second was rather taciturn, so I only got the unsatisfactory report that school was “okay” as he rushed off to play with friends. Side note: as your kids get older, you will find that there are things that you don’t really want to hear about, to be honest.

Watching the big yellow buses on our roads carrying our future to their places of learning this fall, I am hopeful and happy.  Our public school system may not be perfect, but our schools are filled with educators and staff who are dedicated to providing the best education to the students they serve. Here’s wishing them all a great year of teaching and learning and growing our school communities.

Study hard, kids. Our future depends on you.