Last week was the first week back to school for 2019. It was a short week, owing to the public holiday on Monday, only it felt incredibly long!
It's amazing what perspective a new year gives you as a teacher. For a start, having your old class back for a few days gives you a chance to see how quickly young children mature. Just six weeks and they are all taller and, for the most part, less impulsive. (We're talking about kids going from Year 1 to Year 2.)
I have a new neighbour this year, Ms M. Actually, she used to be Mrs S but she's reverting back to her maiden name. (Funny story: When our classes had names related to our initials, rather than colours, hers was 1A. At some point it occurred to me to ask why it wasn't 1S. Apparently 1S was to close to IS, at a time when the terrorist organisation was in the news, and we had a lot of Muslim families to consider.) I always admire Ms M for the quiet, calm way she goes about her job. She's been doing it for far longer than I have.
My classroom is still in a state of organised disorganisation (or is it disorganised organisation?). I had planned a big session before and after school on Friday but ended up going home sick before 8.30am. But when Ms M walked in the other day, she stood admiring my tote tray cupboards and said, "I really shouldn't come back in here until I've sorted my room out - it's too depressing." Which puts a new perspective on the room that I am still in despair about!!!
A big positive to come out of the week was the attitude of my ASD student, Mr T. On the first day, another student was so tired she started falling asleep during the morning session. I decided to send her home. As she was leaving the classroom with the SLSO, Mr T called out, "Bye, Miss R, I hope you have a nice sleep." Cue bursting heart from proud teacher at this moment of empathy.
Another heart-warming moment was seeing all the students - even the ones who struggled to write one sentence last year - writing confidently about their holidays. It inspired me to ask my new class what they can't do YET so that they can see their progress when they look back from the year-end to the start of the year. Or, if we are using buzz words, I'll be teaching my students about growth mindset.
On Friday afternoon, I logged onto our admin system to see if we'd been allocated classes yet. I found my new students and set about getting all the personalised displays organised for printing at work on Monday. I feel excited about these new little people who become my CPS family for a year.
This week's challenge has been trying not to be cynical about buzz words and programs du jour. Please just let me teach - get to know my students, help them grow as people and learners, and have fun doing it. I suspect you'll find that the dispositions you want me to explicitly teach will develop in the students anyway.
Onwards and upwards. Please remind me to stay positive this year!
