The real training will start when I’m standing in front of the room with 20 curious, cautious sets of eyes staring at me

It's another lovely day, but something is different.

I step outside into the brisk air. A friendly breeze is blowing, the humidity and blazing sun a memory from yesterday. You know what that means, don’t you?

It’s that time of year again. Back-to-school signs festoon the local shops. Uniform stores are filling up with children and teenagers, dressed in a riot of color, ready to be outfitted in the blues or grays their schools require. It seems hard to imagine, but in just a week’s time, these children, now riding scooters and bikes and jumping rope on the sidewalk will troop into school in neat, orderly, matching outfits.

It’s the same story every year as summer winds to a close, the heat eases up, and we come flying headfirst into another school year.

Except this year, I am the teacher.