I officially started (and completed) the first week of my second year of teaching. For some reason, I was NOT nervous about starting the school year. It almost seemed unreal to me that summer was over and that I had to go back to work so soon after finishing summer school. Even though I did teach summer school (and worked at Enterprise off and on throughout the summer months), this was officially my first summer "off." It was a great summer, as you've seen from my pictures, and I wasn't quite ready for it to end. I was, however, ready to get back into a routine. It was weird to sleep until whenever (although I'm a morning person and was usually up by 7 or 8), eat breakfast as I watched the news, head to the pool, eat lunch whenever, head back to the pool, eat dinner whenever, go to bed whenever. I had a hard time with all that, so I was eager to get back into the swing of things. I was excited to see my teacher friends. I was excited to meet the next group of kids I would mold into fine young adults.
What I forgot about was the horrible, god-awful, horrendous week that preceeds the start of school: MEETINGS. For an entire week, we sat through boring meeting after boring meeting after POINTLESS meeting. And I must say that teachers are the worst students that will ever walk into a school. But I won't get into that...
So the week before the kids arrived was the worst week of my life. But a week ago today, I met my little chickens (as I like to call them). They begin as little chicks, all cute and adorable. Then they hit 8th and 9th grade and become all ugly and gross. I, luckily, am the lucky one who gets the 10th and 11th graders this year who are starting to turn into the grown chicken they are meant to be. The ugliness is fading, and for the first time in their lives (for many of them), they are beginning to understand the importance of their education. It's exciting to share this moment with them.
As I was saying, I wasn't nervous for the first day of school. It kind of snuck up on me, and I was anxious to get through the meetings so I could meet my chickens. As they began to arrive, I began to see many faces that I had last year. As the students piled into my room, some old faces, some new faces, I was thrilled to meet the new crew.
1st hour-11th graders who are fabulous.
2nd hour-11th graders who are amazing.
3rd hour-11th graders who are fun.
4th hour-11th graders who are exciting.
6th hour-10th graders who are...quiet. You know the sound a cricket makes? You will hear that in this class. I even told them, "I'd rather have you talk too much than not at all..."
"Chirp, chirp, chirp."
Ok, so this 10th grade class isn't AS exciting as my other four 11th grade classes, but we'll get there, I'm confident.
Anyway, the most exciting part about this first week has been the flock of students who have flooded my room to welcome me back, to request me as their teacher, to hug me and ask about my summer, to complain about how horrible their new English teacher is and how they wished I was their teacher, to ask me to request them as my student next semester, or just to visit. I have students stopping in between passing periods (at the risk of being tardy to their next class) just to say hello. I have students coming in during their off hours to write/draw on my boards and chat the hour away. I have students asking me for English help because "I just connect with you and I know we work well together. My new teacher isn't helping, so I would love to get help on my thesis statement if you have the time."
THIS is why I teach. As I collect 150 essays on Friday, THAT is not why I teach. But the process of writing that essay is why I teach. Seeing the lightbulb go on as I help them write a good thesis is why I teach. Being able to say to a kid who has just told me he's stupid when it comes to English, "You are not stupid. You just struggle with English, which is why I'm here." Seeing him smile as he begins to realize that just because he has a hard time in English does not mean he's stupid; that is why I teach. Seeing a 10th grade boy tear up when I look him in the eye and say, "This is your year. I am confident that you are fully capable of this work. I have no doubt in my mind that your parents will stop yelling at you and be so proud of you when you bring home your first A." That is why I teach.
I thank God every single day that I have a job in the teaching industry. Not only do I have a job, but I have a job at MY school. Chatfield is my home. These students are MY students, my little chickens, or in the case of my 10th grade class, my little crickets.
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