We had to write weekly reflections in one of my master’s degree courses. At the time, I worried about beginning school years. Never one to pull punches, to the sheer delight of the overworked T.A who had to read my papers, I claimed the program did an excellent job of having us look at curricular units, at the social and political structures that affected and were affected by education, at how education could be a righteous force for justice, at various social, medical, and learning issues and how those must be addressed. But, I said with the brashness of a 20-something with whopping student loans, what I was most worried about was how to get started.

Every lesson, every suggestion, and every piece of material assumed a start to the year that had been successful. It assumed an established environment, a sense of role and purpose, a smoothness. If we…