Ever wonder why WE get so excited when the sales begin? Why we feel the frantic tug to make a great bargain and buy things that are generally NOT for ourselves?
I have a theory. I feel that we get a rush because-just like our students, we crave New Beginnings. Out with the Old and in with the NEW. We trade in our useless and lifeless tools for more colorful and creative, and perhaps more precise tools.
New school supplies, new lesson plans, new curriculums for some of us, a new organizational system for others, a renewed spirit and most importantly: a new slate for us as well as the children.
We get excited b/c even if we've been teaching for eons, we know that it's not just the students who have to make transitions and who arrive to capture new learning-we do as well. If we didn't and we weren't challenged, we would not bother or get such a rush of euphoria each and every year. It is both ritualistic and mysterious because even we wonder and ask ourselves: what if ......

I just ended the last day of summer school yesterday. It is always to amazing to me how much pre-kindergarten children can grow (physically, emotionally and academically) in 9 months. It is such a transformation! These children are accomplished and by the end of the year-They KNOW it!
I also watch (sometimes in horror, sometimes in amazement) how fast my own little one is growing and accomplishing on a daily basis. This is THE REASON that I choose to become a teacher. It is all of the little successes that culminate into victories!!
It is the same with us, as adults. Perhaps we don't grow as exponentially as our students or children do, but we do and must be cognizant or our own growths: mentally, socially, academically and professionally. We must stay motivated to learn and in turn motivate our peers to continue on in the continuim towards successes and little victories and ultimately triumphs.
I don't ever wish to become stagnant! I hope that you share this sentiment...