February slump

There's something uniquely oppressing about grey February days. Despite the number of days listed on the calendar, I am convinced that this month is longest of the 12. It's bleak and cold, but not festive. The decorations and lights are packed and the lean diet days have begun.

I flip through gardening catalogues, but I'm eating Wal Mart's mushy produce. I wander through my backyard, trying to determine which spot receives the greatest light, and once I discover it I rush inside to embrace the warmth of our home.

Usually I must do something crazy during this month - cut my hair short, pierce my cartilage, climb an icy mountain in the dark. Something.

I see a similar slump in the high-school and middle-school students I teach. They complete their work but lack the curiosity, the energy of the beginning of the year. I am searching for ways to remind them - and myself - that learning can be an exhilarating adventure. Tomorrow, my seventh grade General Science class will build models of skeletal joints. They have already designed the models and planned who will bring certain supplies.

My chemistry students spent time today in the computer lab preparing an oral presentation on the chemistry of an everyday substance. I loved hearing one student eagerly share his findings on caffeine with his classmates. Did you know, that a substance - theobromine - in caffeine (and thus in chocolate) increases the heart rate, relaxes some muscles, and increases one's urge to urinate?