I’m sure most of you have realized by now that my posts put a very optimistic light on education. Mind you, I believe a positive attitude is critical to making teaching a great job rather than a burden. Yet, this attitude reminds me of some of the war accounts I have read. The typical young kid believes himself invincible until after the first battle, and then the reality sets in that he might not make it out alive.
As I started researching for my classroom management plan, I found the article posted below. The teacher gives a bleak outlook on the first day of school. The teacher titled the article “Why Children are Left Behind.” The article discusses how even before the very first day of school, a myriad of problems corrupts the school. These problems vary. The author mentioned how a Spanish teacher was switched to a social sciences position because there was no one else to fill the position. Part of the reason confusion resulted happened because the school would not hire the teachers needed because they believed the full amount of students who signed up for school would not show, making it unnecessary to waste the money on new hires.
To say the least, I began to wonder, what will the first day really be like? Our textbooks encourage us to make this perfect atmosphere for our students. I feel at times like the authors are saying “you have full control on how the first day goes.” The reality I am beginning to understand is that I can try and do as much as possible, yet, that does not guarantee that things are going to be just swell.
This reminds me of a little proverb I heard from an organization I worked with in high school: “blessed are the flexible for they will not break.” Even though there may be a hundred different things going wrong before the first student even steps into the room, flexibility will at least make the day less stressful. After talking to some of the teachers I observed, I also began learning little tips that help flexibility. For instance, its always a good idea to create a back-up lesson that you can pull out of your hat on short notice. Also, even though its good to keep bringing new, exciting materials to your lesson plans, sometimes the best idea is to just K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid). I figure my best shot at not falling completely on my face is to learn all the tricks that the veterans used to survive their first days and years.