Now I know this is very much against the norm, but I LOVE this time of year (a couple of weeks before the new school year begins)! While setting up my classroom, I visualize what the new school year may have in store for me. I reflect on the good points from the previous year, while brainstorm ways to improve in the areas that weren't so good. This time of year brings boundless possibilities of student achievement and growth as well as the possibility of taking my teaching to a higher level. As head coach of my school's back-to-back, undefeated football and girls' basketball teams, I think about what my responsibilities are to help carry on Piedmont's winning tradition. As one of the veteran teachers in the building, I think about ways I can help the new teachers adjust to what will probably be the toughest year of their lives.

More than anything I think about my 9-year-old son who helps me set up my classroom every year. We do this as a way to spend some quality time together before my "other 90-plus kids" monopolize a great deal of my time. One year as we were working on my classroom library my son said to me, "Dad, it's cool that you're a teacher because teachers love kids." I made a promise a long time ago always to teach and interact with my students in the way I expect my son's teachers to teach and interact with him. This helps me stay focused. SOME PEOPLE dread coming back to work after an extended vacation. Well, I guess my mom was right when she once said to me, "Boy, you're name is David Milligan, not SOME PEOPLE!"