School days around the corner

STAFF WRITER

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As the end of summer vacation looms on the horizon in Portales, educators and students alike are preparing in their own ways for the beginning of school.

Educators, like students, are able to take time off during the summer, and thus have to face the prospect of preparing themselves for the year.

Stephen Melby, an instructor of social work at Eastern New Mexico University, said that because he teaches classes both online and in-person, he refocuses himself by building his life around his teaching schedule.

“I will teach anywhere from two to three nights a week. I coordinate my life around that schedule. It’s just a lot easier to do that,” he said.

Melby also takes care of all the preparation that he can in advance to make time for a busy first week of school.

“Our university uses a computerized system called Blackboard, and of course you have to have all of those dynamics set up initially. Because the first week is usually pretty busy with a lot of matters of connecting with other professors. I personally like to have those things done ahead of time. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” he said.

Portales High School Science Teacher Jack Willis, on the other hand, said that he doesn’t have to prepare himself to the same degree, a fact that he credits to teaching for 48 years.

“I kind of have an idea of what’s going to happen. My routine is pretty well set in stone. I do some things differently depending on what kind of classes I’m going to teach, but other than that, the preparation is still pretty much the same. I don’t really worry too much about it,” he said.

While Willis values the time he has in the summer, he said that he welcomes the return of school.

“My wife and I do a lot of home projects at our house, and so I miss the time that I get to work on those projects,” he said. “Even though I’m busy all summer with those kinds of things, it’s always nice to just have a change. Getting back into school is also another change that I enjoy doing.”

Anna Erwin, who will be entering her senior year at Portales High School, also enjoys the change, reporting that she feels excited to begin school.

“I’m excited for my new classes; I’m excited for my senior year. I’m going to be done with high school, and I just kind of like it better when I have plenty to occupy me,” she said.

In order to prepare for the coming school year, Erwin said that she had to regain the routine that she had the previous school year.

“I just kind of try to start going to bed earlier and waking up earlier, not just sitting around all day,” she said.

Baylee Mccluskey, who will soon be a freshman at ENMU, said she finds certain aspects of this new period of her life challenging.

“Getting up in the morning is challenging. Trying to train myself all over again. I’m really nervous, because it’s my first year. I came from Elida. My graduating class was 11 people. I don’t know what to do with so many people,” she said.

However, despite the potential challenges, Mccluskey said that the prospect of socializing is an exciting one.

“I’m looking forward to making a whole bunch of new friends, because I’m a people person, and I love to talk, and I love people,” she said.