It is the night before my students start school. This year I have the privilege of welcoming 25 souls into our classroom. Tomorrow morning 25 students with only 4 years of life experience will walk in. This is a fact I have to remind myself of constantly.
I have a tradition, when I receive my class list for the first time, I carefully read each name with reverence imagining each student’s name is being read at their college graduation/military commencement/NBA Draft (wherever their path takes them). Next, I say the most earnest prayer I will every pray, “Please God, thank you for these students, help me become the teacher they need me to be.”
I guarantee I will not sleep well tonight, I never do the night before school. I am all nerves and excitement. I will lay in bed tonight with questions swirling through my brain, many of which my students may have as well. Will they like me? What will they be like? What will happen? What new things will I learn? Then I will reflect on my practice. How can I build relationships? Where do I want to grow as a teacher, and how will I get there? Do I really want to try that new idea, will it work, what's my back up plan? How can I be the teacher they need me to be?
Today we had orientation, it’s an exciting (and exhausting) time to meet with families. It is an all day performance that is a whirlwind of sharing information, creating a welcoming environment and most importantly listening to families. Families bring up challenges some of which can be solved now, “Where is the paperwork to make sure my child continues to get speech?” and some are challenges that will take more time, “My child isn’t really potty trained and I don’t know what to do.” I found some resources about potty training in that I can pass on tomorrow. Most of the day is spent reassuring families that the issues they bring up are manageable and even common, I found myself saying things like, “It’s normal for 4 year olds to be so engrossed in their play that they forget to go to the bathroom, we will remind them often.” “Of course you can request we only display your child’s image in our classroom, your child’s safety is the most important thing.” “Yes your child will be successful here, we can work with their health issues.” “You’re right, our school has not done a good job of asking parents for help in our classrooms, I’m so glad you are able to help in ours!”
The best part of orientation is seeing former students. Knowing that one day my current set of students will come back to offer hugs or bashfully smile from the doorway. They will peek their head in my room and exclaim, “HEY! The room is not the same” or whisper to a friend “remember when we used to play in here.” This is one of the most satisfying and affirming moments, to know I was the teacher these students needed, and I built the relationships to help these students succeed.
Some of the challenges my students face were made clear when I listened to families today. Every time I think I have heard the most devastating story I am proven wrong by something new and shockingly horrific. All of my students still live in poverty, most will start learning English tomorrow, and I am still faced with the challenge of becoming the teacher they need me to be. These factors coupled with the fact that I have 25 students enrolled and only 24 seats in my room will certainly keep me up tonight, and many nights in the future.
To face the challenges awaiting me, I am meditating on the words of Leslie Knope. (Watching all of Parks and Recreation was one of my goals this summer.) The final scene spoke right to my teacher heart, because it articulated why I teach. Ms. Knope wisely says “... we fought, scratched and clawed to make people’s lives a tiny bit better. That’s what public service is about: small, incremental change every day. Teddy Roosevelt once said, ‘Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is a chance to work hard at work worth doing.’ And I would add that what makes work worth doing is getting to do it with people that you love.”
The hard work worth doing starts tomorrow. Right now I just hope I can fall asleep and please God, let me become the teacher they need me to be!
