The First Week Back

I love the first week back at school. I do. Even though it's hard to say goodbye to summer, there is something exciting about new studets, a new year, with so many new things to try and new experiences ahead of you. I get a thrill walking down the hallways, seeing the 7th graders looking lost and terrified and excited. I even like to see the 8th and 9th graders back from the summer looking sometimes so much older than the last time I saw them.

This year, of course, has been a bit harder because of Afton. Usually I get bored about mid-July and I'm totally ready to be back. But this year it was a real stretch to leave her. Thank goodness I love my job and am so busy there I don't think about much else. The first day I showed a power point introducing my class, and I added a few family photos to introduce myself. Never done that before. I guess I just wanted to show Afton off. I had to show them THIS. How could I not? And each period I showed it, when her picture came up, I had a little lump in my throat.

So I thought I'd just post my thoughts from the first week. It's been a tough start--we have a new principal, new VP, new office sectretaries, plus the split has made things a little uncertain as far as funding and money and pay. Everyone is on edge, nervous, and even angry. We are all making less money--even the administrators--and yet the work stays the same. Plus we've added late-start Fridays. It was pretty crazy today. The kids don't come until 10:00, so when lunch hit no one was sure where to go. But it was nice being able to have collaborative time with my teams.

I find myself feeling renewed and excited, though. I am loving teaching my classes. I am taking greater pleasure in it than I have in a long time. Maybe it's because my neice and nephew are now in junior high, and I can picture each student as if they are THEM. I want to treat my students the way I want their teachers to treat them. I just hope I can hold on to my new-found enthusiasm. Sometimes it feels like the powers that be are trying to suck everything fun and worthwhile out of my job. But when I stand up in front of those kids--it's almost like I'm home. It's where I belong. How lucky I am to have a job I love so much. And I have to admit--I'm pretty damn good at it!