Fresh Air, Fresh Start

As the cool so-to-be autumn air blows through the city streets, new beginnings and fresh starts surround us in our lives and the lives those around us.

I was sitting in a cafe recently when the server said it was funny how we are programmed to think September is the time for new beginnings. We are programmed from having to go back to school year after year. Little did she know (in her joking tone) that I actually was getting ready to go back to school... yet again.

Lined up for my student card with all the "frosh" embarking on their first university experience. I just wanted to shake their anxious faces and tell them it will be alright! I was there because I was starting my Masters of Education at The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto.

This will be the first September for me in three years that I haven't been able to walk into a classroom to greet brand new eager faces to teach. Instead, I'll be walking into a classroom with twenty-four others, discussing social issues and their impact/ influence/ absence from education.

I hope that, while still a supply teach this year, I will get to inspire and encourage young kids to have fun with learning in their classrooms. One of the perks of being a supply teacher is that you arrive fresh and keen, without being worn out by the "trouble makers"; eager to inspire and possibly help the students view their learning from a new perspective.

Most think of September as a time for a fresh start because the hot, and sometimes lazy, summer days are ending, bringing on the crisp days of fall. New t.v. shows are starting, new fall clothes are being added to wardrobes, and pumpkin spice lattes are being sipped.

All in all, this time of year prompts us to set new goals and even get into different routines (whether going back to school or not). Some might even argue that the "new-ness" of September is more meaningful than the "new-ness" of New Years Day.

At least now we know that we've got just over three months to tie this year up and accomplish what we set out to do back on that dark, cold, and possibly inebriated December night last year.

So, go get that new clipboard, box of pens, leopard print shoes, or whatever it is you need for your new endevours.

Cheers (with Warm Apple Cider) to fresh start and to new beginnings!