I am in a rut. There it is. I said it. Now what do I do about it.

I had one of the best summers I can remember. I tried new things, I traveled. I lunched. I wrote. Now it’s back to the daily routine of school. I am one of those people who truly does not thrive amidst routine. I need novelty and variety. This could be why I rarely teach the same lessons from one semester to the next. I crave creativity. While showing a clip of PBS’ History of American Photography, I came to a sad realization. Today’s students have no idea what a darkroom is nor how to use one. The segment was about photo romanticism and how photographers manipulated images in the darkroom by adding Vaseline to a sheet of glass and placing it over the photo paper to create a blurred dreamlike effect. I mentioned that I had students do similar manipulations with water and metal screen. They asked if they would get to do that, and I had to tell them that there isn’t a working darkroom in the school. They will never get to experience the peace and quiet in the red light. They will never have the satisfaction of seeing their photo appear in the developing tray. It’s a feeling like no other. It’s a combination of accomplishment, pride, satisfaction and wonder.