This will be the semester I’m going to…

Most people view January 1st as a time to start fresh, make a New Year’s resolution and forget about the mistakes of the past. As an academic, I tend to view the start of a new academic year as the time to wipe the slate clean. I love this time of year; the weather is not too hot and not to cold. Football season is just around the corner (this will be the year of the Titans by the way), and a new cohort of students have a arrived on campus. Just like most of my students, I look back on the previous semester and think that I was too disorganized, didn’t get everything I wanted done, and didn’t perform as well as I wanted to. And just like most of my students I say “things are going to be different this semester.” This will be the semester I’m going to:
*be two weeks ahead in all of my classes
*come up with brilliant demonstrations to wow my students
*effectively manage my 4 senior research students and get enough results so that I can write a publication with each one.
*really make connections with some of my students and truly be a mentor to them.
*not get bogged down with grading lab reports.
…and the list goes on and on. They say good intentions pave the way to you know where, but I guess it never hurts to try. I did have a good first day. I am two weeks ahead in my classes. My desk is clean heading into day two. So we shall see how long my two-week cushion lasts. I have a new teaching project I want to start this year, I have some interesting projects planned for my upper-level lab, and I am confident my seniors will work hard on their research. I’ve been really blessed to have the position I have. I never dread going in to work, my colleagues are my friends, and my students always motivate me to be a better professor. Who knows, maybe this WILL be the semester where I realize near Jedi-like teaching abilities, publish a paper or two, and keep my inbox clean. It never hurts to dream.