Teacher Nightmares

Ever have a nightmare as a student, in which you dream you go to school and suddenly remember you forgot to even start a ten page term paper due that day? Or how about get a test for which you studied hard, only to find you don't know any of the questions? Ever wake up in a cold sweat over such dreams, and find relief that it is the middle of the summer?

I've had dreams like these. I think most students have. But now I've had one from the other side. A teacher nightmare. At least I think I did. This was one of those dreams that I only remembered some time after having it. Because of this, the details are rather fuzzy and vague. I may invent some just to make the story more interesting. But it was something like this:

It was the first day of school. And things went horribly. Specifically, I was totally unprepared for the students! I ran out of things to do with them. They just sat there with nothing to do. Everying fell flat the first day. And the first day is so important to get right! This was indeed a nightmare. Then I woke up and realized it was the middle of summer. What relief! I still have the chance to get things right on the first day! The new school year is not off to a terrible start after all!

By the way, despite being 30 days away from the first day with students, and enjoying the time off immensely, I still find myself plotting/scheming/thinking about how I can improve things in the classroom next year. How might I teach the Civil War differently? How will I teach note taking skills in a way that serves students better? What might I drop during the first days of school in order to be more efficient with the time and hit the road running? Is that exercise I loved using so much last year really beneficial for my classes? How might I grade research papers differently? Should I change my grading system entirely, and move from a category system (50 percent for tests, 25 percent for homework, etc.) and go to a points only system, so students can more easily keep track of their grades? Should this be done with AP students only, or other classes as well? Should I adjust my homework checking policy if I have the child of a school board member in my class, or should I stick to it because I believe it's the most efficient way to keep students honest about their work?

I believe I have given some thought to just about all of these questions so far. And there's plenty more time to think and plan! Such is the life of a teacher, even on vacation...