In the Beginning...

With the new school year beginning this week, I have been doing a lot of reflection. It has been interesting to me the shift in dynamics that I am noticing from the end of last year and the beginning of this year. I believe I was apprehensive about the start of the year because I felt like I was fighting a losing battle with my classes last year. I should start off by saying that not only did I enter in a difficult situation, I also entered with three months left in the school year. As the fourth long term substitute, and a revolving door of daily substitutes, the students in my classroom had been left with little to no structure since October. Everyday felt like a battle against classroom management and behavior. Lots of behaviors remained "okay" while I picked and chose which fights to enter. I honestly had days when I didn't know what to expect and days where I felt like the battle wasn't worth it. But among the hard days there were always good days that reminded me why I chose to become a teacher.

With such a difficult situation, I as apprehensive about the start of the new school year. I felt like I was constantly questioning myself. What if I truly struggled with classroom management? Is this something I want to do for the rest of my life? Was it the situation or was it me? I spent a significant amount of time discussing these questions, and others, with my department chair, STAT teacher, and fellow colleagues. All the time, everyone was reassuring me that the start of a school year presented a wonderful opportunity to me. I would be able to start with a group of students, develop ground rules, although I like the word expectations better, and keep behaviors in check from day one. With this boost of confidence, I began planning and entered the my classroom feeling confident.

And you know what, my days have been successful thus far! I know that eventually I will run into a bad day but for the time being I am stocking up on the good so that I can make it through the not so good. One activity I have attempted to incorporate every class is movement. Whether it is an icebreaker or a group activity using stations, I have gotten my students out of their seats once a class. I think this has been really important to keep my classes interesting and to keep the attention of my students. I have even been told, by a student, that they enjoy my classes because they are interesting and not full of busy work. I remind myself that eventually there will be a class that will feel like busy work but I hope my students can reflect back on classes that were more energized and look at the bigger picture.

The final thing that has been amazing to me this year is the amount of previous students that have come back to visit me! This has been the greatest feeling of all. It let me know that I was able to build relationships and get through to these kids that had a rotten year in Chemistry. I was not just another face to them but I was their teacher. I am looking forward to the year ahead!