After 9 years away, I’m back in the Planetarium Classroom at Poinciana. I have spent almost every morning this summer (along with my 4 month old son James) working away in there, first purging and throwing away stuff too old or too broken to be useful, then taking apart, fixing, and reassembling pretty much all of the systems other than the actual planetarium projector. It has been cathartic and fun.

Thirteen summers ago I put it all together for the first time. I was 26 and still figuring this whole teaching thing out. Thirteen years later I’m 39 and still figuring this whole teaching thing out. Still figuring out the kids and what makes them tic, and think, and stop thinking.

I swore that I wouldn’t come back, and am still kinda surprised that I jumped at the opportunity to move back in as quickly as I did. I left feeling like I had mastered the job and needed challenge. After 3 years in non-classroom positions, 2 in a science lab, and 4 in a 5th grade classroom, I see new value in the planetarium classroom and in my role as a resource teacher. The challenges I thought I had mastered have warped somehow with my experience and perspective into new challenges right before my eyes. What will I do differently and how will it be more beneficial for kids? That’s where I see new opportunities.

And hey, maybe I’ll keep up with this blog better as well!