Fresh Start

 "Maybe we should call ourselves the Febreeze Brothers because it's feeling so fresh right now."

- Det. Allen Gamble

My wife and I really like the movie The Other Guys starring Mark Walberg and Will Farrell. For those of you who are not familiar, Walberg and Farrell play NYPD police detectives who are very different in their approaches to life and their work. In one scene, the two, having just had their constant arguing blow up in their faces, decide to put their difference aside, wipe the slate clean, and commit to a fresh start. 

We are now faced with a similar chance to wipe the slate clean and have a fresh start. We will all get the opportunity to start the semester with all of the experience of the first semester under our belts and what I hope is renewed energy. I know that I began first semester with a lot of doubt and a sense of uncertainty. Grinding it out that way takes a toll on a person, and by the time my doubts were alleviated and that sense of uncertainty dissipated, I was already exhausted. I'm sure many of you felt the same way. 

Now we have the chance to hit the reset button. We know what we can and cannot do. We will have academic supports in place from the beginning, and our students will have a much greater chance to avoid getting in the kinds of holes we saw them dig early in the first semester. As teachers, you all know what does and doesn't work for you in your classrooms in this environment. You will have the benefit of experience when planning your daily lessons going forward. Across the board, we are far more equipped to be successful than we were first semester, and even under those circumstances we performed at a level that outpaced most other schools in our area. 

Sure, there is always the possibility that the issues we feared in August show up in January/February/March, but all things considered, I believe there is a lot of reason to feel excited about where we are going into the second semester. 


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