Thanks for that, Randomly. I can’t decide whether to feel strange for finding such peace in an empty room. There’s energy in a quiet​ classroom, that’s for sure. Maybe it’s leftover energy from all the discussion and writing that had gone on there during the day.

I think it might also be — at least partially — energy that comes from a jangling of the nerves, the jittery feelings of relief and frustration and teaching invariably leaves me with. I usually need a minute — lately I’ve needed ten or twenty minutes — to recoup and recharge after each class. Putting on the teacher’s hat demands a lot from me in terms of creative energy.

I believe you work with younger students. High-schoolers, correct? Do you get the same sense of things after your students leave for the day? Like you’ve been let loose and can reflect on the day, on what to do differently the next time, on what all you might say now that you’ve room to think?