The First Week

Published: 2023-08-31 8:21 PM

Category: Life | Tags: teaching, teacher, high school, work, education

I just finished my first week back teaching after moving into professional development and staff support in 2017. I was nervous and feeling concerned that my teaching skills had atrophied more than I wanted to admit, but, this has been the best school experience since my first year teaching. By far.

There are three differences I can point to that have made this week enocouraging and nothing short of joyful for me:

1. The staff care. I don't mean to say other teachers in other schools don't care, but this is the first school I've been in in a long time where every single staff member is single-mindedly focused on educating children. And not just a cultire of teaching...the culture of the staff as a community is palpable. People I hadn't met would come down to my room just to say hi and see how I was settling in.
2. Students can tell the staff care. I'm the new guy - they don't know me from someone else on the street, but because students know the staff are invested in their wellbeing, I'm gifted trust I wouldn't have otherwise. Students have opened up about home life and other details that would take months to come out in other places. I'm convinced it's because of the foundation of trust that has been established for years.
3. Administrators are involved in the student's lives. Our principal and assistant are in the halls. They know everyone's names (I don't know how they do it...). They know parents. They're members of the community. And they set the example for how to show dignity and build relationships with students in the building. I have a lot to learn.

ON the whole, this first week has given me energy I wasn't expecting. I feel like I have a lot to live up to, but I also feel like I can contribute to the community and the culture of the school. This year is going to push and stretch me in new ways and I'm excited for what learning will be coming.