The Last Week of the School Year: The End of My First Year of Teaching

            Oh my gosh; it’s finally here. It’s the last week of the school year. The kids are acting crazy and all the teachers’ mantra is, “one more week” and “4 more days.” This was my first full year from the teacher perspective and while it wasn’t my official first year teaching, as I was student teaching in the fall and subbing the other half, I’ve still got some reflecting to do.

Back to School vs Now

            I outlined my fears at the beginning of the year in my “Back to School Thoughts” post, but to sum it up I was worried about looking like a fool in front of my students, not remembering their names, and them losing all respect for me. In short, I was worried I was going to be a terrible teacher and that my college career would be a waste. Thankfully that wasn’t the case at all. Apparently, as with everything else, those things get easier with practice. I know that sounds obvious, but in all seriousness I have gotten pretty good at learning names rather quickly. Generally by the end of a day with a class I have most of their names down now when I sub at the elementary level. For the high school and middle school level, I’ve also learned how to cheat. I do this not only with seating charts but also by looking at names on notebooks listening to what their friends say, and handing out a worksheet for them to write their names on as quickly as possible.

Handling a Classroom

            I’ve also learned that my preparation paid off. I don’t spend every moment in front of students looking like a fool. When I do mess up, because that is bound to happen, I’m learning to take it in stride and how to play it off. I’ve also learned a lot of classroom management techniques. Writing my name and a sound scale from zero being completely silent to a 3 being yelling at recess makes any elementary, and even some middle and high school, classrooms much easier to manage. I’ve learned to answer the question, “Wait what are we supposed to do?” with “Who can tell them what your supposed to do?” I know to brush off a rowdy student’s half-hearted pity with, “I don’t want your pity. I expect your cooperation.”

Kids

            Kids have no memory from day to day. This can be incredibly frustrating, but take it as a reminder that you need to have no memory from day to day as well. Don’t hold a grudge. That kid that crawled on top of his desk and barked at every body will wave at you tomorrow in the hallway. Just smile. They’re kids. Remember that future me. They’re kids. Even the horrible attitude seniors, who forget that you know more than them until you are helping them understand Shakespeare, are just kids. They forget it, but you can’t afford to. They’re fun kids, they’re silly kids, but they are kids. Sometimes they just need a reminder that they are a kid and you are not. A quick mention of the latest classical music you listened to while writing about teaching will do the trick.

What About You?

What are your thoughts at the end of the school year? Whether you just finished your first year of teaching or your last or anywhere in between I want to hear from you! What did you learn? What did you forget? What will you never forget? Let me know in the comments.

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Image Credit: "Kids come out, summer has arrived." by Josh Pesavento