Back to school

Last Monday my youngest son, age 6, started school. He has been ready for that for so long, and the anticipation was sky high! I loved to see how much he was looking forward to be a schoolboy, and when we finally bought his satchel, it was a moment of serious consideration and delight. It was so obvious it was important to him. 
My only worry is that I and his teachers will fail at keeping this excitement alive, other than that I am happy to see my baby-boy enter a new chapter in life.

A new school year is coming up. We, the teachers, started this week having planning days; preparing to welcome and how to teach the students.

When you’re a teacher you are never completely grown up; you still dread for school to start after the summer. Fall is not about struggling through autumn gale when out for a walk, or sitting inside enjoying the rain tapping on the windows. Fall is new books, new students, a new start.

It’s not only the students who enter the classroom meeting new peers and teachers; we, the teachers, enter the classroom facing new classes. Since this is a vocational training school, there are only 15 students in each class, but these fifteen students are individuals, each with their own background we have to take into consideration, we have to learn a lot of new names and learn how to meet their personalities and planning the lessons right in order to keep up progress of learning, for each and every one of them.

I love it! But even though I have been a teacher for quite some time I face the beginning of each year with excitement and nervousness. Just like the students do.

One of most important preparation routine for a new school year is to go shopping for rubber-soled shoes… with high heels. They are not easy to find, but to me that is important. Thinking about how much I dislike shopping, I am surprised how patient I am when choosing shoes for work. It is an important choise, though. I have to like how they look, they must be comfortable and they should not make any clicking sounds when I walk through the corridors. (I have had students complaining about me walking around the classroom, because all they could think about was the sound my shoes made....)
I like wearing heels. I am 5”3’, which is not very tall, but with heels I can imagine I am taller. It makes wonders for my self-esteem, cause I always find myself being the shortest person in the classroom. Maybe it’s just the impact of a better posture asserting itself (stooping is more or less impossible when wearing high heels; straight back and chin held high comes naturally), to look confident makes a lot of difference, it’s like the feeling itself sneaks into your consciousness and makes itself known in your appearance. For my part that is important for executing good classroom management. (I just made myself come across as a very strict teacher... I'm not. I don't say like many, with a wry smile, do: "Never smile to the students before Christmas". I actually have problems being angry, and when I do get mad it never lasts for long. I still keep my students focused, though... touch wood.)

The excitement of being back is not just related to the students and the subjects I teach. I really enjoy the teachers’ lounge, the fellowship between the teachers on a place safe from the “enemy”. Students are demanding, just the way they should be, but in the teachers’ lounge we relax, exchange stories, experiences and methods. Sometimes a student has made a great comment… maybe it’s not a good idea to reveal the secrets of that part of work…

We discuss common rules and regulations for the classroom, the students and us, the teachers. We demand nothing less from each other than we do of the students, which makes us able to face the students standing firm and with no doubt our colleagues back us up. The sense of loyalty is reassuring and comforting.

All together the entire package embrace the hope I have for my own son: That each student will experience how much fun it is to discover progress in knowledge and personal abilities, both in subjects and as an individual.