A few are napping in the corners. I head to my office without stopping for coffee. Some of my students are waiting for me to open the doors. They're a little peeved at me for not getting here sooner, but they laugh off their complaints as they pour into the adjacent studio . The room begins to brighten in the light of computer monitors.
Students jostle into position at their workstations , logging on even before they sit down.
The first series of live programs starts at eight sharp today, opening day. My students have spent the last two weeks getting ready, earning themselves an extra two weeks vacation during the year. They are focused now on making sure that everything starts on time the first day, so that the teachers won't complain and their classmates won't tease them. Each student has his own workspace , his home for most of the day. Although they complain about the limited space, they each have as much space as the average business office cubical.