School Days, School Days

I'm starting to get pretty excited about the coming school year. I loved my sabbatical, but I think it did exactly what it was designed to do: it gave me the time and space to devote my energy to a variety of interesting projects and, in doing so, it cured me of burnout. What a relief. Burnout sucks. Really. It sucks the energy and creativity right out of you and makes you feel resentful a lot of the time. Corporate America should really implement some kind of a sabbatical system. I know some corporations do that, but I certainly don't think it's widespread. It should be. If I'm the norm here, a good, productive sabbatical makes an employee find renewed enthusiasm for her work. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

So what am I looking forward to this academic year? Here's my partial list:

1. Teaching. Man, I miss it. Have I said recently how privileged I feel to have a job where I get to talk about books and big ideas with interesting young people? I loved teaching in China, but I'm really looking forward to getting back into a classroom here. Plus, I'm teaching Holocaust lit in the fall, and I like teaching that class a lot. A whole lot.

2. The book. I'm working on a book with my friend, Robin, and I have really enjoyed the project. A big part of the enjoyment is that I get to work with smart and interesting Robin, but a lot of it is the novelty...you got it: a new thing.

3. Study abroad: I spent a couple of hours with my friend and study abroad partner, Eric, this week planning collaborative study abroad assignments for students in our 2012 program. I think we came up with some great ideas, and it made me pretty excited about the program. We talked about how what we're planning can feed into a research project on study abroad that I'm currently involved in with several colleagues at school, too. Yay!

4. AAUP. I'm looking forward to the death of SB5 in November. I LOVE my union--my collective bargaining unit, in particular--and the idea that Ohio's governor wants to shut it down makes me angry. I'm feeling a little more prepared for that fight now.

5. Change. Lots of things changed at school while I was on sabbatical: even my school's name changed! My department hired four new professors last year and three more this year, so I have many new people to get to know. I'll take on some new committee work, mentor a new colleague, and teach new classes in the winter, spring, and summer.

Okay, I won't lie. I'll miss sabbatical. If things stay the way they are now, I won't get another one for seven years. Right now, though, I'm enjoying my enthusiasm for the coming school year.

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