Summer heat finally came to my school, which was built in the 1950s so that it is incredibly uncomfortable when the temperature surpasses 80o and the building begins to bake. Fortunately, two of my classes are working on projects and a third is doing review for the final exam, so I am really only teaching 2 classes for the last week of classes. Thank heavens.

I am a Yankees fan, but it is obvious to me that the team is undergoing the same metamorphosis now that it underwent in the late 1980s, when they traded away most of their young and upcoming talent for over-the-hill veterans who did not perform nearly as well as expected, as well as draining the team of any enthusiasm, so that they sank to the bottom of their division in the early 90s. Right now there is maybe a half-dozen enthusiastic players on the Yankees surrounded by one-dimensional senior citizens. It is actually the cross-town rivals the Mets who are headed in the right direction, and the fact that they are managed by one of my favorite old-time Yankees Willie Randolph has me rooting for the Mets now for the first time ever.

Monday night was our end-of-the-year celebration for Target Teach, a program in which 30 seniors from both high schools have spent the year learning about teaching at monthly workshops while working with mentor teachers on a daily basis. The program has been more successful than we ever dreamed it would be, and it is great seeing the enthusiasm of those kids, some of whom are the future stars of our profession. It is also incredibly-rewarding being part of it.