The end of summer vacation is here. There are those of us teachers who are rested and ready to go. There are those of us teachers who are not so rested, and ready to go. Sadly, there are those of us teachers, rested or not, who are not ready to go. In whichever group you find yourself, the year begins anyway, and I am going to begin it with a smile. Smiling is so important. I am, in general, a fairly happy person. I think I smile, a lot. I have, unfortunately, had a few students ask why I do NOT smile. That always makes me take a step back and think. It always makes me wonder what is going on in my head and heart that is begin reflected in my face. And it always makes me a bit sad. I started this post in AUGUST, and never finished. Funny how time gets away from me like that. I do believe I started this year with a smile, and kept it going. I made it a point to have fun at the beginning of every class and carry that fun thro...