Twenty-plus years ago I was finishing my first month of my first year of teaching. I was working in an elementary classroom in Cathedral City, California (in the Palm Springs area.) This school ran a year-round schedule with four tracks of classrooms. Each track followed a 3-month-on 1-month-off rotation, so at any given time 75% of the school was in session while 25% of the school was on break.
I can remember so much of those first couple of years. I remember my very first day with my very first class. Well. I remember going over the roster, introducing myself and glancing at the door, waiting for a supervising teacher or administrator to come through it.
I realized that nobody was coming. This was my first class. These students were mine. Their education was literally in my control. I remember the long silence that followed as the class stared at me for direction.
The emotions I felt at that moment were strong, the memory of them etched deeply. I was so thankful for two veteran teachers that reached out and helped me through that first year: Mrs. Rouse and Mrs. McClintock. Two decades later I remember their names, their faces, and their kind acts. I remember all the time they gave to me asking them what felt like the most basic of questions. They answered my questions, gave me sage advice, and let me cry in their room during prep time.
I have lost touch with them over the years, but the two of them are forever etched in that same first-year memory.
Here I am over two decades later and now working with amazing teachers that weren’t even born when I started my teaching path. I’ve become the veteran, getting asked questions and pretending I know the answers. I’ve been asked to help design programs and schedules, representing our math division as the math chair, and still I am actively seeking more leadership and presenter opportunities.
Dave Burgess of Teach Like A Pirate and Dave Burgess Consulting asked an amazing question to the twitterverse this week: What are you most excited about for the upcoming school year?
My answer is simple: I'm excited to continue to find that first-year-teacher-fear. I'm excited to continue to do things both in and out of the classroom that scare me. I'm excited to stay outside of my comfort zone and provide support for others so they have the confidence to do the same.
After all, as educators we are CONSTANTLY asking our students to challenge themselves. We owe it to them to show that we live that same path.
