Aren’t we always reinventing ourselves somehow? We are children, young adults, parents, students, and teachers at different stages of our lives. Situations reinvent themselves also. Our holiday gatherings with family look very different now than they did thirty years ago. Even though I have been out of the classroom for two years, I am still very much aware of when the teachers in my district are starting the new school year, so my thoughts were indeed with them yesterday.
I remember anticipating that first day back with joy and excitement, at times maybe some apprehension. It was always wonderful to see everyone and hear about summer travels and happenings. I would spend the summer thinking of new ways to reach my students and new ideas to share with my colleagues - gathering new books, rethinking procedures for meetings, reimagining strategy charts, etc. And those ideas would fill many conversations for that first week and beyond.
Yesterday, my activities here at home for the first day back weren’t all that different from what I experienced in the past, just reinvented to fit into what I now do. Even though I wasn’t physically with my fellow teachers yesterday, I sent good wishes and thoughts through email and text messages. I still thought about the new books I wanted to share with teachers by working on a project I am involved with at my local reading council, and I still thought about sharing the latest in classroom strategies by working on details for our state’s annual reading conference that I am chairing.
I think there will always be a “first day back” for me, but it will continue to reinvent itself with each passing year.
Best of luck to all of you for a wonderfully rewarding year!
I remember anticipating that first day back with joy and excitement, at times maybe some apprehension. It was always wonderful to see everyone and hear about summer travels and happenings. I would spend the summer thinking of new ways to reach my students and new ideas to share with my colleagues - gathering new books, rethinking procedures for meetings, reimagining strategy charts, etc. And those ideas would fill many conversations for that first week and beyond.
Yesterday, my activities here at home for the first day back weren’t all that different from what I experienced in the past, just reinvented to fit into what I now do. Even though I wasn’t physically with my fellow teachers yesterday, I sent good wishes and thoughts through email and text messages. I still thought about the new books I wanted to share with teachers by working on a project I am involved with at my local reading council, and I still thought about sharing the latest in classroom strategies by working on details for our state’s annual reading conference that I am chairing.
I think there will always be a “first day back” for me, but it will continue to reinvent itself with each passing year.
Best of luck to all of you for a wonderfully rewarding year!
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