The First Day of School
Last night, before I went to bed, I spent some time looking over my class list, trying to imagine what each of them would look like and what they would be like. For the past few years, at home, I've known a good many of my kids through siblings, activities at the school, passing them in the hallway, hearing their names brought up in conversations, etc.. I usually have a yearbook to look through and study ahead of time so that I know which faces go with which names. Of course there are always a few that are new or whom I don't know, but I can usually at least have an idea their ethnicity based on their names. This year, I was starting with a clean slate. Which in some ways is very nice that you have no background knowledge of the child and so nothing that might make you treat them differently. However, the thought of learning 27 names, none of whom I knew, was quite daunting last night. And the ethnicities are definitely different here, so that did not help me at all either. I was certainly nervous about that, but after a little bit of time with them today, I remembered how easy it is to learn students' names, and this evening, those names are not just words on a page, but they belong to warm bodies and minds.
Today was a little rough, but I certainly kept my head above water and have all certainty that tomorrow will be better. My first couple of hours with the kids were great. I knew what I was doing, my skills as a teacher came out and I commanded their attention while bombarding them with information. The students I'm teaching are in Year 5 (4th Grade), so they are the same age as my students back home, but here it is the first year of middle school. Middle schools are actually very rare in the UK, most systems have roughly what we would call a grammar school and then a high school. I feel comfortable with this age of kids, and I am excited to be working with them. I'm also thrilled that I'm mostly working with the youngest age in a school, typically they are the ones who are still quite nervous to be there and have not yet developed the "big fish in a little pond" complex.
At the break time, I rushed to my "post" of monitoring a locker area and enjoyed meeting several of the students. I had had the opportunity to Skype with Kelly and some of her students this summer, so some of them recognized me that way, and many quickly knew me by my accent! I had one little girl tell me that her uncle lived in America, but she couldn't remember where. It is hard for people here to comprehend just how large America is, which is very understandable. My world geography is certainly not great (did anyone else feel incredibly dumb when watching the teams come out during the Opening Ceremony?), so I can't say very much! Just to put things into perspective... Alabama is a little bit larger than England in terms of square miles. England has about 51 million people. California is just shy of 40 million.
After the break, I rushed back to stand in the courtyard by my room as my class was going on to their first classes on their own and they were split into three different classrooms. I was glad I could tell them all where they were going and thrilled to help a few other stragglers find their way. I felt like I knew what was going on and was glad to have posted myself there. But I started wondering why my Year 6 English class had not lined up, only to remember that all of Year 6 was meeting in the gym and we were to take our classes from there. My first year at Shades Cahaba, now I can't remember if it was my first or second day, but during activity time (when the kids are at art, music, etc.), I was sitting in my quiet room working on something (or perhaps just breathing!) when Mrs. Baggett buzzed my room and kindly said, "Miss Smith?" "Yes?" "They are waiting on you in Mrs. Helf's office." I had completely forgotten that we had a meeting, rushed in and felt so unprepared and disorganized, a feeling that I truly hate. I think I felt that several times today as well, which makes me flustered, which distracts my teaching.
Then, just a few minutes after getting the kids into the classroom, as they were just getting seated. The bell went off. Several teachers had mentioned that sometimes the bell doesn't always work or it may go off at different times, so I ignored it for a minute as I kept going with the seating arrangements. A minute in, a kid says, "I think we're meant to be outside for the fire drill." So, I rush the kids outside and line them up taking them to the Year 6 area that other staff are marking. Then I realized, the students were supposed to get into their form classes (home rooms), so I had to disperse the kids I was with and gather my own who were all in different classes. They did very well and came right to me. Then I found out, they were meant to be in alphabetical order. I scrambled, and truly the kids did well, and I finally got them in to order. Although we were the last ones seated, we did manage. I must admit that I was a little frustrated we had not been told about this fire drill, until I heard the head say that in fact the alarms going off had been caused by some repair work that was being done on the school. So, not only did I delay leaving the classroom because I didn't recognize it was a fire alarm, it wasn't a drill. Endangering the lives of children in my first day... oh dear!
After getting the kids back into the classroom, I only had a few minutes with them, then I had a planning period and lunch, which I must admit was a nice breather. I helped my kids get through the lunch line today, partly so I could learn more about the process, and then enjoyed lunch in the staff room. I'm surrounded by wonderful teachers, a truly wonderful, fun-loving group of people. There are several other new teachers, and it has been so nice to have someone going through similar thoughts and questions as I am.
After lunch, I took attendance with my form class, then we went to the gym for a whole school assembly. I loved what the head teacher (principal) talked about. He greeted the kids, welcoming them to a new year and introduced the new members of staff. Then, he showed the kids some new shoes he had bought. He talked to the kids about how when you buy a new pair of shoes, they feel stiff, uncomfortable and different. But after a while, they soon begin to feel like your old shoes and once again, you are comfortable and feel at home.
Today was not my best day, but it was certainly not a bad day, and I have no doubt that each day will get better. I'm already looking very forward to tomorrow, the possibilities that will come out of it and the confidence that I can build in the kids and in myself. And soon, I know that my new school will feel as comfortable as my worn-out tennis shoes.
Today was a little rough, but I certainly kept my head above water and have all certainty that tomorrow will be better. My first couple of hours with the kids were great. I knew what I was doing, my skills as a teacher came out and I commanded their attention while bombarding them with information. The students I'm teaching are in Year 5 (4th Grade), so they are the same age as my students back home, but here it is the first year of middle school. Middle schools are actually very rare in the UK, most systems have roughly what we would call a grammar school and then a high school. I feel comfortable with this age of kids, and I am excited to be working with them. I'm also thrilled that I'm mostly working with the youngest age in a school, typically they are the ones who are still quite nervous to be there and have not yet developed the "big fish in a little pond" complex.
At the break time, I rushed to my "post" of monitoring a locker area and enjoyed meeting several of the students. I had had the opportunity to Skype with Kelly and some of her students this summer, so some of them recognized me that way, and many quickly knew me by my accent! I had one little girl tell me that her uncle lived in America, but she couldn't remember where. It is hard for people here to comprehend just how large America is, which is very understandable. My world geography is certainly not great (did anyone else feel incredibly dumb when watching the teams come out during the Opening Ceremony?), so I can't say very much! Just to put things into perspective... Alabama is a little bit larger than England in terms of square miles. England has about 51 million people. California is just shy of 40 million.
After the break, I rushed back to stand in the courtyard by my room as my class was going on to their first classes on their own and they were split into three different classrooms. I was glad I could tell them all where they were going and thrilled to help a few other stragglers find their way. I felt like I knew what was going on and was glad to have posted myself there. But I started wondering why my Year 6 English class had not lined up, only to remember that all of Year 6 was meeting in the gym and we were to take our classes from there. My first year at Shades Cahaba, now I can't remember if it was my first or second day, but during activity time (when the kids are at art, music, etc.), I was sitting in my quiet room working on something (or perhaps just breathing!) when Mrs. Baggett buzzed my room and kindly said, "Miss Smith?" "Yes?" "They are waiting on you in Mrs. Helf's office." I had completely forgotten that we had a meeting, rushed in and felt so unprepared and disorganized, a feeling that I truly hate. I think I felt that several times today as well, which makes me flustered, which distracts my teaching.
Then, just a few minutes after getting the kids into the classroom, as they were just getting seated. The bell went off. Several teachers had mentioned that sometimes the bell doesn't always work or it may go off at different times, so I ignored it for a minute as I kept going with the seating arrangements. A minute in, a kid says, "I think we're meant to be outside for the fire drill." So, I rush the kids outside and line them up taking them to the Year 6 area that other staff are marking. Then I realized, the students were supposed to get into their form classes (home rooms), so I had to disperse the kids I was with and gather my own who were all in different classes. They did very well and came right to me. Then I found out, they were meant to be in alphabetical order. I scrambled, and truly the kids did well, and I finally got them in to order. Although we were the last ones seated, we did manage. I must admit that I was a little frustrated we had not been told about this fire drill, until I heard the head say that in fact the alarms going off had been caused by some repair work that was being done on the school. So, not only did I delay leaving the classroom because I didn't recognize it was a fire alarm, it wasn't a drill. Endangering the lives of children in my first day... oh dear!
After getting the kids back into the classroom, I only had a few minutes with them, then I had a planning period and lunch, which I must admit was a nice breather. I helped my kids get through the lunch line today, partly so I could learn more about the process, and then enjoyed lunch in the staff room. I'm surrounded by wonderful teachers, a truly wonderful, fun-loving group of people. There are several other new teachers, and it has been so nice to have someone going through similar thoughts and questions as I am.
After lunch, I took attendance with my form class, then we went to the gym for a whole school assembly. I loved what the head teacher (principal) talked about. He greeted the kids, welcoming them to a new year and introduced the new members of staff. Then, he showed the kids some new shoes he had bought. He talked to the kids about how when you buy a new pair of shoes, they feel stiff, uncomfortable and different. But after a while, they soon begin to feel like your old shoes and once again, you are comfortable and feel at home.
Today was not my best day, but it was certainly not a bad day, and I have no doubt that each day will get better. I'm already looking very forward to tomorrow, the possibilities that will come out of it and the confidence that I can build in the kids and in myself. And soon, I know that my new school will feel as comfortable as my worn-out tennis shoes.
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| The view outside my classroom - who wouldn't love the blue sky and sunflowers?! |
OH Rebecca I know your new class already loves you as much as we do. I think your first day of school went about like all of them! It's that new shoe thing for sure. Not one first day in 20 years of teaching felt like old hat to me. I still got butterflies and felt a bit nervous. I remember sitting with my class at my feet for Morning Meeting the first week of school. I told them that I was always nervous the first day just like they were. One student said, "I could tell you were nervous!" :)
ReplyDeleteEvery day from now on will get better and better and what's not to love about a room with THAT view!
Hugs from across the Pond,
V