Teaching is a lot like most things in life: it's not what you expect. I was pretty psyched to start my new job. I had an idea of what my classroom would look like, and I realized day one that my idea was off. The first week was rough. It really was a combination of being new, working with 7th graders (who I found out are SURPRISINGLY younger than 8th graders) and being a bit unprepared for the culture I was stepping into. It certainly was not ideal. The biggest hurdle that I faced was realizing that for me to teach these kids, I may have to adjust my method and style. One class especially (my last class of the day), was just knocking the wind out of me every day. However I soon remembered one of the perks of being a teacher: tomorrow. Every tomorrow is an opportunity to do better. To change. To start new. The best thing is, the kids totally subscribe to this magic. They love second chances just as much as I do. So far I am 8 days in, and I have taken full advantage of my fresh starts.
I have had to crack down a bit on my last class, disciplinary wise, but its worked. I also moved a bunch of kids from that class to another class to make the size more manageable, and I can already see a positive change both for me, and my students. All in all this week has been exactly what I needed, I'm still a long way from figuring it out, but I have my confidence and optimism back. I mentioned the culture, and I think it really does play a huge factor. I have some kids that are lower academically than I have ever seen. I have some kids that are so nasty to one another that it takes my breath away. I have some kids who put in zero effort because CHOOSING to fail is a lot less demeaning than TRYING and failing. And a lot of those kids go home to places that I can't imagine. But despite their environment, those kids show up everyday. The least I can do is show up too. And offer them the chance to start fresh tomorrow with me.
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