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A Teacher's Journal: No Place I'd Rather Be!
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Things are in full swing over at the Salem Middle School right now. We're one of Wake County's newest year round schools, so teachers have been in the building since July 2nd and students on tracks 1, 2 and 3 arrived on July 9th. I'm supposedly one of the "lucky ones" who was assigned to track 4--highly desired because it closely matches the traditional school calendar--but I sure don't feel lucky!
In fact, I'm feeling a bit left out because everyone else has already begun the school year. My friends think I'm crazy because I just plain can't wait for my "summer" to end this week. Day one for me can't come soon enough!
You see, there's something special about the beginning of a school year, no matter when it arrives. In the workroom, mental energy surrounds the initial efforts of teachers working together to plan out a year's worth of learning. New materials fill classrooms as supply orders for different subjects arrive each day. Neighborhoods wait in anticipation of letters from the school revealing team assignments--and phone lines come alive with calls between friends as soon as the mailman leaves.
The scene at school during the "first week' is always the same. Sixth graders with freshly cut hair and brand new clothes walk through the door struggling to carry backpacks overflowing with supplies. Nervous and excited all at once, they search the hallways for familiar faces, run frantically at the fear of being late, and follow every rule for the last time all year. Classrooms are silent as students look their schedules over and over again to be sure that they're in the right place! Innocent smiles and honesty define our youngest students.
Seventh graders stroll around during week one, reveling in the fact that they're not sixth graders anymore! Full of brash confidence, they spread harmless and humorous rumors on the bus about "the sixth graders who were stuffed in lockers last year" or "the thousand-pound backpacks they were forced to lug by the mean and evil teachers who lurk in every classroom on the sixth grade hallway." Everything about seventh graders--from their mannerisms to their music--shouts, "LOOK AT ME...DO YOU SEE WHAT I'M BECOMING!" A growing independence and developing sense of self envelops them, binding them with a spirit that is simply fun to watch--a reminder of what it means to be young.
My favorite group, however, are our eighth graders. Having grown into themselves, they seem at ease with one another and self-assured for the first time in years. They seek out favorite teachers quickly--not because they need our approval or because they're trying to impress us, but because they enjoy being mentally challenged and having conversations with adults who care. They're curious about the world and introspective all at once. They understand that school is serious business--but enjoy learning because it reaffirms their faith in their own abilities.
My own feelings race during week one. I'm excited to get to know new students and families, exhausted from the daily demands of a difficult job, sad to learn about students who've moved away, frustrated by combination locks, energized by peers who are brilliant, and completely jazzed when I cross paths with former students who I love. "How are your new teachers?" I'll ask.
"Not as good as you were, Mr. Ferriter!" they'll say, selfishly making me smile.
Days are often a whirlwind where I have to remind myself to breathe. There are papers to pass out and procedures to introduce. I've got to establish classroom rules and routines without boring my students--no easy feat when thirty eleven year olds are staring back at you! Kids will cry and need comfort. Others will worry themselves over homework that hasn't been given and panic out of fear of new situations. Some will miss the bus. Some will be late to class. Some will forget their lunch. Some will fail a quiz.
But through it all, I'll beam because I'm back to school--and there's really no place I'd rather be!
Posted by William Ferriter at 7:18 AM on July 24, 2007 | Leave Feedback
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