My summer has officially ended. Today was my first day back at work. My first day with my students will be Tuesday, September 3rd. This week is professional development week, or PD week. We spend time with our directors and colleagues, go through agendas and procedures in order to prepare ourselves for that first week (and for me that first year) with our students. I wish I could say that I felt 100% prepared for the first day, week, month, year of school. That I left today's meeting(s) with my lesson plans in hand, and that I am ready to go... but I would be lying. However, if being prepared was measured by how excited an individual was, I think I might be the most prepared person I know. I am overly excited to get this new year started. It feels SO good that I am doing EXACTLY what I want to be doing. All of my blood, sweat, and tears that went into college are all worth it now. What makes me even more excited is that I will be carrying out this work in a school that I really believe in. It is so great to be apart of an organization that puts the needs of each individual student at the top of its priority list. So to say that I am just excited is an understatement. I CAN'T WAIT!!!
Many things stuck out to me today while we were in our meetings. In honesty many things have stuck out to me since I began my journey at Aveson. But today during our meeting(s), we were being given our expectations as Advisors and Staff at Aveson, and one particular expectation really made me think about some of my previous experiences. Never talk negatively about a student. This is something I have never experienced at Aveson, but I have however experienced this many times at other schools while I was a substitute teacher. It really hurt my feelings when this happened (usually during lunch breaks). I couldn't believe that these educators who had made a commitment to serve their students would talk about them so with their colleagues. I remember sitting there, listening to their various comments and thinking to myself... if you don't want to be working here, I will gladly take your place; and I would LOVE to work with that student on whatever you are complaining about. And I would do it with a smile! I thought these teachers were so lucky to have jobs in a job market that was in such a huge state of decline, I couldn't understand why they were taking that for granted. However, I am glad to have taken the path I did, and end up at the school I did. A place where it is a norm NOT to talk negatively about students in the lunchroom, or anywhere else on campus.. because at our school, we just don't see our students that way, and we choose to use our time more effectively.
Now talking about using time effectively.... That is one avenue I wish I could be more on top of at the current moment. Actually, I take that back... I have been using my time for pretty much nothing except for school, school, school. BUT I wish I had a clearer picture of exactly what I was doing. This will be my first full year as a teacher. I walk around my campus, and look at the classrooms of other teachers who seem so calm, cool, and collected. I envy them. They know exactly what to expect come the first day of school. What needs to be covered, and how to prepare their students for a successful year, because they have done it before. I feel like instead of having a clear picture of what to expect, my picture is a bit fuzzy. It's there... and I can look at it, but I must have forgot to put my glasses on or something, because I can't make out exactly what the picture entails.
I am a person who needs things to be well planned, and organized. However, this will be my first time planning and organizing for a "fuzzy picture." My strategy is going to have to be trial and error. I have set up my classroom the way that I think I want it, put things where I think I want them, but who knows... When All my students are in the classroom I might just decide the way I have things laid out just doesn't work. I might need to move things to a more effective space. It's hard to tell exactly. At our meeting today I had so many different papers and notebooks I didn't know what to do with ANY of it. It's all just floating around in my backpack, and it is driving me NUTS!!! I need a three-ring binder with folders and clearly labeled dividers. A place to put everything. Usually I would have put these types of things together before going to a meeting, or to school. This year however has been a bit different. I wanted to purchase my binder and all of my organizational materials... but I didn't know what I should label my dividers, what kinds of things I would want to put in my folders, where/how I would want to organize my notes. Do you know how hard this has been for me? I live by an organized and well thought out plan and schedule. Luckily today while I was at PD I was able to conjure up what I would want to write on my dividers. I think I might make a trip to target or office max tonight ;)
The first day of school is fast approaching, and I can't wait to share how that goes!!!
