For me, the 2012-2013 school year starts in two weeks, August 27th. To be fair, that's when the students come back. I have been working on "the next school year" since the middle of June. I was reading through some of my blog posts from my well-conceived, but ill-achieved, website, and thought it fitting to repost here (see an earlier post about having separate blogs that I can't/don't keep up with).
So, from Academnation last August:
We've all seen those t-shirts that say "I survived..." and there are several things that people have lived through: hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, hottest days of the year, really bad concerts, etc. I was thinking about the first day of school, and how it sometimes feels like a natural disaster, or a really bad concert, sometimes both. As teachers, we spend practically all summer gearing up for the first day of school. We think about what we're going to teach, how we're going to teach it, the rules and expectations we have. We make mental lists of all the things we're going to "do differently" this year. It's exhausting work.
And then comes the actual first day of school. So far, I've survived seven of them, five in the states. I never sleep well the night before, I'm so nervous that my students won't like me, or that they'll break all the rules on the first day. I even have nightmares about coming unprepared, or undressed, or that my students are actually evil cyborgs sent from the future to kill me. It's truly quite terrifying. After the night of unrest, I guzzle some Dr. Pepper and arrive early to face the day of new possibilities.
The first student comes in 30 minutes before the bell to "see the classroom" and the day begins. I meet 28 new students, and about 10 parents. Then I talk, all day: explaining how things are going to be in the classroom, the rules they should know, the expectations I have, etc. We introduce procedures for lining up, transitioning between subjects, asking a question, etc. All the while, I'm trying to gauge their perception of me. I'm thinking things like: "Will they remember all this tomorrow?" "How many times will I have to repeat this rule?" "That girl is drawing, she isn't even listening, how rude!" and "I wonder if they'll like me as much as they liked their last year's teachers." I also start to notice and make judgment on their academic ability. Some students can't cut straight, or their handwriting is atrocious.
By the end of the day, I'm ready for Summer Vacation all over again. I feel like I've been awake for 72 hours straight, and all I want to do is get a lozenge for my tired, sore throat and go to bed. But I can't! I have to get ready for the next day, and the next, and the next. I don't get another break until Thanksgiving! From now, until then, I will be constantly thinking about my students, what they need, how I can help them, and what I must do, or do differently, to make my classroom better for them.
This job that I love so much is not about "playing with kids all day," it's about teaching. And teaching is hard. Every time I see one of those "I survived" shirts, I just want to yell out: "Oh yeah? Well, I survived the first week of school!"
So, from Academnation last August:
We've all seen those t-shirts that say "I survived..." and there are several things that people have lived through: hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, hottest days of the year, really bad concerts, etc. I was thinking about the first day of school, and how it sometimes feels like a natural disaster, or a really bad concert, sometimes both. As teachers, we spend practically all summer gearing up for the first day of school. We think about what we're going to teach, how we're going to teach it, the rules and expectations we have. We make mental lists of all the things we're going to "do differently" this year. It's exhausting work.
And then comes the actual first day of school. So far, I've survived seven of them, five in the states. I never sleep well the night before, I'm so nervous that my students won't like me, or that they'll break all the rules on the first day. I even have nightmares about coming unprepared, or undressed, or that my students are actually evil cyborgs sent from the future to kill me. It's truly quite terrifying. After the night of unrest, I guzzle some Dr. Pepper and arrive early to face the day of new possibilities.
The first student comes in 30 minutes before the bell to "see the classroom" and the day begins. I meet 28 new students, and about 10 parents. Then I talk, all day: explaining how things are going to be in the classroom, the rules they should know, the expectations I have, etc. We introduce procedures for lining up, transitioning between subjects, asking a question, etc. All the while, I'm trying to gauge their perception of me. I'm thinking things like: "Will they remember all this tomorrow?" "How many times will I have to repeat this rule?" "That girl is drawing, she isn't even listening, how rude!" and "I wonder if they'll like me as much as they liked their last year's teachers." I also start to notice and make judgment on their academic ability. Some students can't cut straight, or their handwriting is atrocious.
By the end of the day, I'm ready for Summer Vacation all over again. I feel like I've been awake for 72 hours straight, and all I want to do is get a lozenge for my tired, sore throat and go to bed. But I can't! I have to get ready for the next day, and the next, and the next. I don't get another break until Thanksgiving! From now, until then, I will be constantly thinking about my students, what they need, how I can help them, and what I must do, or do differently, to make my classroom better for them.
This job that I love so much is not about "playing with kids all day," it's about teaching. And teaching is hard. Every time I see one of those "I survived" shirts, I just want to yell out: "Oh yeah? Well, I survived the first week of school!"
