The New Semester

It is amazing how fast things change. As I was packing my son up for summer camp one day last week, I put a pair of swimming trunks in his backpack and went to get a towel. As I cam across a TeleTubby towel I started teasing him and then I said, “I assume you don’t want me to give you this towel,” holding up the TeleTubby towel.

Being a show for two-year-olds and having not watched it in years, I was not surprised to learn I was correct. I then said, “I assume that you don’t want a Barney towel either,” as I held up a towel with a purple dinosaur on it. Again I was correct. I was surprised to hear him say after this, however, “And not the Winnie the Pooh towel either”.

I thought Pooh was okay. I know a number of adults who like Winnie the Pooh and thought this was something you never outgrow. My wife asked me where I had been as she said. “He hasn’t liked Pooh for years.”

This just showed me how important it is to keep up with changes and how fast things change. This is a good reminder as I get set to start the new school year. I have to find out what the personality of this class is, what they like and what no longer has any value to them despite it possibly working for previous classes.

Certainly I will try to start off with things that are current and they may relate to; things such as the perserverance, grace and graciousness of Shawn Johnson in finally winning a Gold Medal in the Olympics or the upcoming Presidential election, perhaps the process of picking a Vice President, as Obama and McCain are both getting ready to do that, or seeing what kind of reaction they have to John Edwards. On the other hand, if this is not the way to gett hrough to them, I have to be ready to abandon this approach quickly and try something else. Either way, I expect the semester to be fun!