First Day Jitters and School Year Goals
Summer is over. How did that happen? I couldn’t tell you, but what I can tell you is that I’m nervous. A new school year and new students is exciting and scary at the same time. The realest first day jitters I felt were before I started student teaching. I almost made the decision to quit teaching before I had even begun. The nerves were also pretty intense when I started my first teaching job. It was my first full-time gig! Now, I’m about to start my 6th year of teaching and the jitters are still there, a mix of anticipation for the new school year with a side of anxiety.
It’s exciting to think about the new students you’re going to have and meet; it means the beginnings of new relationships. One way I’m lucky is that I truly like the people I work with in my department, so it will be nice to see everyone back in the office.
A new year also means leaving the tough parts of the previous year behind. That student you wanted to get through to so badly but it never happened. The parent situation that knocked your confidence so hard that it made you question yourself. The exhaustion that came from traveling with students on weekends. The frustration from talking to administration about the same thing over and over.
As I write this post, I reflect on last year and parts of it were really hard. But, there’s no use in changing the past, just have to keep moving forward. While I can’t leave all of last year behind me, I’m looking forward to learning and growing from the people around me and especially from my students.
Tomorrow is my first full day back in the classroom. I’ve probably run through my first day of class routine in my head a couple of dozen times. I rehearse what I’m going to say as if I’m running lines. I think about whose faces I’ll see come into my classroom as I stand in the doorway. I focus most on what my goals are for the year — what is it that I want to work on or accomplish as a teacher?
For this 2019–2020 school year, I decided that I want to improve the relationships I have with my students.
During more than half of my teaching experience, I was in grad school, coached, and moderated clubs on top of teaching full-time. There were so many days where I felt tired and told myself I needed to recuperate or take a break, and didn’t go to that game or stay after school for the spring musical. While I would still say that I have an overall positive rapport with my students, I want to do more to show them I see value in what they do and who they are outside of my classroom. Supporting your students makes such a huge difference in how students see their teachers.
