After the First Day

I have been awake since 4 AM. Call it the first week jitters, exhaustion, or just the buzz of the never-ending to do list as the year finally, finally, gets underway. The students showed up yesterday and our second day together beckons. I cannot wait to see how it will go because we all know that the first day of school carries a certain excitement, but that it is the second day of school and all of those after that are the true test. Will this year be worth it in the eyes of students? Will these teachers, the adults that surround them, really care?

As I look back on the blur of the first day, a few things stand out.

Learning names is so important, and so is learning their pronunciation. I spend a lot of time in the weeks leading up to the first day simply looking at student pictures. I label what needs to be labeled in the classroom. We also meet with parents and caregivers that want to before school starts to learn about their child. And then we wait, because we won’t know a kid until we have met a kid and spent a lot of time with them. But their name? That shouldn’t take that long and neither should how to say it right. Today, as they walk in, I will try to address each of them by their name. By tomorrow I should have them down and if not, I start to owe them treats. Relationships are built in being seen, that starts with their name,

Your room will never be ready. I was as ready as I could be but the minute the kids showed up I saw a few problems with our space. The tables were too tight, there is no natural flow to walk through and where they store their notebooks created a traffic jam. After minor adjustments, we shall try again today, however, I also made sure to tell them that they can move the furniture as they see fit in order to not feel so crowded.

I had too much to do. I overplanned, I knew I did but not by how much. The day felt rushed and too full as we tried to do one thing after another. Today, two things are on our agenda – discussing consent and discussing why reading sucks at time. Yes, we got stuff done, but we didn’t slow down enough to just be together. That changes today.

What did I learn today? I am really trying to remember to gather information about my students that goes beyond the large stuff. This may sound dumb, but I fear that at times I learn things about them but then because I don’t write it down, it disappears. Yet knowing things about their lives, about them is what builds a relationship. So this morning, I am going through my student info sheets and just adding what I learned yesterday, even if the knowledge seems really insignificant.

Even a small note makes a difference. In my fog of exhaustion last night, I remembered that our team likes to send a “We had a great day and are excited for the year ahead…” and so we did and we think it matters, because there was a buzz in the building of excitement. Because at the end of the day even though the exhaustion felt tangible, we also left wanting to come back, excited for the year ahead, and that is something worth noting and celebrating. I also made sure to send thank you’s to my own children’s teachers, after all, they also had great days. Those emails or notes, they matter as we start to build a community of trust.

We get another chance. One of the best parts of teaching is that it is not just a day thing. Yesterday was just the beginning of what will be a year of learning, of exploration, of community, and of growth and today we continue that journey together. So even if the day before was not great, even if the day before was exhausting, we get another chance. And not just the adults, but the kids too, and that matters sometimes more than we know.

So here’s to many more days ahead. I cannot wait to see what happens.