First Days Can Be Stressful But Educational

This week I had the unique experience of having two first days of school. My placement fortunately was changed mid-week which brought about two nights of not sleeping because I was anxious about the first day of school. At my age and with my experience I thought that I would have been over this kind of jitters. I’ve done multi-million dollar presentations and slept the night before with no problem. But the first day of school brought me right back to when I was a child with all of the nervous anxieties that go with it. Ironically enough, the coop that I had who has been teaching for 32 yrs. said that she couldn’t sleep either knowing that I was coming for the first day. So for all of you that had the same experience on your first day, my week consisted of two first days!

The best part about having two first days this week was that I was exposed to two very different schools and school districts. In so many ways the schools are on opposite ends of the spectrum. One is a rural school and one is urban. One is a very old school building and one is relatively new. The urban school is very diverse in all categories and the rural school has some socio-economic diversity. The rural school seemed to be much more rigid with policies and procedures than the urban school and the most obvious difference was that the urban school student population is almost three times that of the rural school. But with all of the differences, there was one common thread... the students' smiles. I found walking through the halls of either school seeing the students smiling, laughing and joking with their friends to be an invigorating experience. Regardless of race, gender, socio-economic conditions or exceptionalities, their smiles showed strong and bright reminding me that each one is an individual wanting the same attention and respect as I do and every other human being does. Seeing both of these schools and the vast differences and yet the similarities in the students really hit home with me that each student needs to be recognized as an individual and treated with respect. This was especially apparent at the urban school where the teachers that I observed treated the students with respect and in turn were respected. It seems that the old saying 'you get what you give' could not be more true than with the teaching profession. It holds true with lesson planning and activities, but mostly in developing relationships with the students and having the ability to connect with them.

I think everyone has one, maybe two teachers that they remember all of their lives. And what is it that makes these teachers memorable? Is it that these teachers taught them Einstein's Theory of Relativity or some great scientific theorem? I don't think so, I believe it is because these teachers showed them respect, connected with them and maybe believed in them more than they believed in themselves. This week has been invaluable in reinforcing what I already believed, that treating the students with respect can be one of the most important aspects of classroom management and the students' willingness to learn.

This week, divided as it was with its polar opposite schools, brought another very valuable insight to me, the fact that as much as I may want to help and teach the students, the students have choices and must make the right choices or suffer the consequences. And sometimes suffering the consequences is what makes the lesson. During my two short days at the rural school I heard a phrase that I'll always remember... "You have the right to fail." The teacher said this to the class as it was just before the end of the semester and as a reminder that their grades are up to them. They can choose to do the work and follow the instructions or not; and they can fail. That is their right. That is their decision. And their decisions will always bring consequences - for the better or worse - there will always be consequences. This is a lesson that students need to learn and understand early in life.

As stressful as this week was with two first days and the schools and school districts being completely different, I wouldn't have changed a thing! It was fun, it was exciting, and it was very, very educational.