I’m scared I’m already getting a cold. I’m not really sure what I’m doing with this whole “work at two schools” thing. Aside from that, though, today went pretty well I think.

The back-to-school routine in Roseville is pretty different from Forest Lake in some major ways, and while I still miss some things about Flake, I am glad to be in a community that has values closer to mine.

One small example: when I went to take my picture for my first official “Lifetouch” photo at Roseville and I made my signature very big, excited smile, the photographer and secretary laughed instead of cringing. The photographer said “I love your smile!” Last year, the photographer got irritated and wanted to redo the photo.

A larger example: I’m pretty sure that anyone who teaches has heard the three “R” buzzwords: relevance, relationships, and rigor. When I was teaching at Forest Lake, the most essential R was rigor, and it showed in the stress levels and frustrations of many students. We always talked about “rigor and relevance.” Relationships were given lip service at best. This led to grueling sessions talking about data and test scores and how to improve college readiness as measured on the ACT. I would leave the first couple days of development feeling beat down and discouraged.

At Roseville, the first R for everything is relationships. It was the focus of much of our first faculty meeting, with relevance coming next and then rigor (which naturally follows). It has been so long that I have kind of forgotten what it’s like to put the relationships first, and that’s so sad. I’m excited to keep working on it. I’m excited that “the why” of what I do is at the center of my focus rather than a bunch of test scores from last year.

None of this means that the teachers in Forest Lake are less personal or relatable; the teachers at Forest Lake work so hard to connect with students regardless of what they face. They are professional and awesome and they deserve better than what they get. I miss many of them and the stability I had there.

I am glad to be in a place that is pushing me to do better in a positive way by focusing on the reasons why I do what I do and how I can connect with kids and help them go further and achieve what they want.