It’s that magical time of year again.  I’ve got a big stack of syllabi, a box of freshly sharpened pencils, and a computer full of ideas for assignments and class discussions.  It must be time for the students to return to campus.  Finally!  Hooray!

Some people dread this idea.  Case in point, this cartoon that has been floating around the internet recently (thanks failblog!):

Unlike the teacher in the picture, I’m actually very excited to start classes again.  I *love* teaching.  It is absolutely, 100%, my favorite part of my job.  I have a lot of ideas prepared to make the course engaging, and I’m excited to meet my students and to see how well they respond to these ideas.  My class roster shows that I’ll have a variety of students, from different majors and different places in their undergrad career, which should give our discussions lots of different perspectives.  I’m very much looking forward to discovering where the semester will go…what my students can learn and accomplish, the ways in which we can grow together, and the fun that can be had along the way!

So, dear blogosphere, cheers to a successful new year for us all!