Dentistry in the Education Field

In what could be my last year, I have been "assigned" to what might best be described as a dentistry schedule (of course, it could also be a doctor, a stock broker, drive through window person at McRonald's or any other profession in which clients are seen quickly in an attempt to pass as many through as possible in a given amount of time for a maximum amount of profit). Here's the deal: I have eight classes of 48 minutes with a three-minute break between them. After the fourth class, I get a half-hour lunch break for responding to email and collecting thoughts for the home stretch, then it's back to class. I'm certain grade school teachers would say, "So what? I've been doing that for years! Qwitcherbellyachin!" but in a high school setting where the pace has only recently changed from 90-minute periods to shorter ones, it's new for me. I go from room to gym to room, presenting the lesson and moving on to the next group of eager students. By the end of the day, I have no idea what I just did; ever-smiling me is an automaton. This frantic pace makes it hard to reflect on the valuable parts of any lesson...what to add, what to change; how to get through more effectively the fine points of developing a working relationship with others? Did I put a crown on the right patient and extract the right tooth? Did that person want fries? This frenetic activity forces me to think in other places. The shower is generally the best place; in the shower, I once had the idea of recreating a battle in The Hundred Years' War with cardboard cutout figures to show the effectiveness of the longbow as opposed to the crossbow--definitely a thrill to see high school students shooting a volley of arrows at cardboard figures then charging with cardboard swords--but they remember the lesson! And no, Mom, they were not running with pointy objects in their hands. There are other venues as well. I had a "genius" idea (so-called because it was mine) on self-presentation while mowing the lawn over the weekend and couldn't wait to use it. Upon further review, after I'd presented it, the idea put some students in a position to feel less than positive about their self-image. Idea to the shelf...but I was thinking! Students look at me like I really AM losing it, but it's simply a matter of trying to remember which class was which and what I had written down in my lesson plan. Of course, it also requires a response time faster than FEMA...ok, bad example. I have no intention of counting the days until retirement because the challenge is a fascinating one. There are many new students this year and many new challenges. Lead on, McDuff!