08/26/2026
I'm staying with the back-to-school theme today after my first day with new students yesterday. If you haven't spent time in my classroom, this post may not make a lot of sense, because when I am out of my classroom, I present quite differently. In public, I'm generally quiet, respectful, and measured in the way I interact with others. In the classroom...not so much. My reputation as an instructor is based on high energy, crazy humor, and non-stop jokes, especially of the pun variety.
I always start the first day with a bang, and many of my new students today had that deer-in-the-headlights look, or in this instance, fawn-in-the-lens look as they shoot glances at friends around the room. I love interpreting those glances in my mind: Who is this guy? Is this guy for real? How does an old dude with gray hair and goatee have this much energy? Can I crawl under my desk? Is it safe to laugh at these jokes? Is he crazy? Maybe this class will be fun?
I have a hunch that this little fawn had its own set of questions running through its head as I photographed it lying in the grass near a sagebrush bush very near the Burgess Junction Ranger Station back in June. I'll let you hazard a guess as to what they might have been!
Here's to a schoolyear filled with many smiles, joy, and laughter, and even a few funny looks!