"To toss or not to toss?"

As I sit here after just completing the first week of school, I am reflecting on the thoughts that I have had this week.  Firstly, I am wondering just how I plan to make it through a whole 5 days starting next week.  I am simply exhausted.  Maybe it's my age, but I did notice that my younger Facebook friends have all been posting that they are "pooped" as well.  I know, I know, all my non-teacher friends are now shaking their heads in disgust, but believe me, it is pretty hard to put on those shoes and perform in a non-air conditioned room when you've been at the beach for two months.

However, what I really want to focus on in this blog is how much I have been thinking about throwing things out, about casting off. Unfortunately, I have a serious problem with the act of the casting. One of my department colleagues has actually called me a "classroom hoarder," saying that he fully expects to see me on A&E someday. My husband cringes every time we attempt to clean out the garage or the shed or the closets, as I continually cry out, "No, I need that!"  I must admit that I do indeed have several "mild" hoarding characteristics.  But who says it isn't it normal to keep real ditto masters from thirty-two years ago?  Or my favorite peasant shirt from junior high?  You never know when you might want to use those things!!

Actually, there have been many, many occasions when my fellow department members will come by to see if I have a certain book or handout or exam, knowing full well that I most certainly do. (They have already planned to raid my stuff as soon as I decide I am definitely leaving.)  Education just lends itself to hoarding.  Everything old is ALWAYS new again in my profession.  Skills good, skills bad, portfolios good, portfolios bad, testing good, testing bad, hands on learning good and so on and so on and so on, for the past thirty years.  Just last year I was happy to know that I had saved all the old, old English Regents materials because the new, new English Regents has very similar aspects to the old, old English Regents, and I HAD ALL THE OLD, OLD STUFF!

So this week I have been feeling so strange every time I finish a lesson.  I just don't know what to do about all the things I know I will have to clean out by June.  I know that I may never have to use my "Get Acquainted" stack of handouts again, but I just can't bring myself to toss the folder, seems so wasteful, so final.  Then again, I sure wouldn't mind tossing those four sets of summer reading essays I got on Friday.