First Day of Teaching

You have done it!  Congratulations! You survived four years, or more, of college for this moment. You have been hired as a first year teacher.  All of your hard work has paid off!

You spend the second you are hired, until the second you have children walk into your room, making your classroom perfect.  You re-arrange, you clean, you set up a theme, you organize the materials, you make perfect lesson plans, and you pick the perfect outfit.  You have waited a long time for this moment.  You pray, you hope, you dream about this year.  You drive anxiously to school, you stand impatiently at your classroom door, and you finally see the first anxious face heading your way.  YOUR DREAMS HAVE FINALLY COME TRUE!

This is how I felt the first day of my teaching career.  I was so excited.  The moment I had waited for since second grade had finally arrived.  I was finally going to be a teacher in a Kindergarten classroom. My own classroom!  I can remember all of the emotions.  Excitement, anxiousness, frightened, giddy, joyful, and the list goes on.  I had prepared for so long, and I couldn’t wait to get my career started.

Then in happened……..the day wasn’t so perfect. Sure it was fun, exciting, and hectic.  But it was also a crazy mess.  The moment that stands out from this day happened when I least expected it.  I had always imagined Kindergarten students as pure, untouched by the world, and just full of joy. I had no idea otherwise. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

During a semi-calm moment, the students were coloring.  I was looking for materials for our next activity.  Before I could say or do anything, one of my precious little girls had climbed up onto the top of her table.  She then proceeded to grace the entire class with the “F” bomb.  She then got back into her chair, and got back to work.  I’m sure the look on my face was classic.  My eyes were wide, my mouth hung open, and my mind went blank.  Twenty seven little faces turned to me to see what I would do. I had no idea what to do.  They hadn’t taught this to me in college.  There was no class on “what to do when a student shouts an obscenity across the room.” So…in all of my young wisdom, I looked at this precious girl and said, “Honey, I’m not sure what words you are allowed to say at home, but we can’t say those words here.”

Shew.  I survived my first (of millions) test!  I look back on the moment and I laugh.  I laugh at how unprepared I was.  I laugh because this little girl really was one of the sweetest children I have ever taught.  I laugh because that first day was nowhere near what I expected.

Here I am, ten years later, still encountering unexpected lessons and tests in my classroom.  Most of them make me laugh.  Some challenge me. A few bring me to tears.  That’s the beauty of teaching. It is always changing. It is always different.  It always keeps you on your toes.

So the next time you plan something, be prepared.  Something may just happen to change your perspective, change your day, or change your dream.  Embrace it.  Laugh about it. Go for it!