Day 1 at Glashan – I think I can

Let’s start off with I was and am sick. I got sick late Sunday night (it is currently Tuesday a.k.a. first day of school) and it snowballed through Monday and into today; however, I refused (as many teachers would) to be sick on my first day. So my day went through a foggy haze.

The introductions were awkward. I am not overly comfortable in large groups of people I do not know… so being around 400+ students with some parents and then staff members was certainly a daunting task both to think about and in which to partake. My associate teacher did all she could (and certainly more than I expected) to make me feel at home, but at some point I needed to take ownership of the situation. I won’t lie, I don’t feel I did. I chatted very briefly with a few parents (gave some directions to the classroom to one set), but overall stuck to another teacher candidate I met. I dropped the ball, but I pledge to do better next time. How? Being healthy will probably help a little, but mostly being in control of my own classroom should help the most. I can small talk a bit about plans for the year, be more aware of schools from which the students come and chat about that. Or, you know, suck it up and fake until I make it… Probably one of the former ideas.

Unlike previous years, the orientation this year is structured. The idea is part of a broader Deep Learning project (more on that in the future). While I don’t necessarily agree that this change in orientation is appropriate for goals of the project (such as indicating to students that everyone is a learner), I’m not opposed to the structure. It certainly presented an opportunity to ensure all students received the same sort of welcome and information.

My homeroom class (the 24 students with whom I will spend the majority of my time – 9 classes a week in total, I believe) is an intriguing make up. 6 are female with the rest male; most went to the same elementary school and were in the same class; it is a gifted class; and the students seem mostly homogeneous. We worked through the plans set by the administration (such as Code of Conduct, new responsibilities and privileges) with much of the class innately taking notes. Grade 7 and they just instinctively take notes. I don’t recall doing that when I was in Grade 7 – jeez. Though one student asked if we would do any actual work today and I explained that everything we do relates to school and skills development: the class listening, discussing ideas, taking notes. He seemed a bit surprised – I look forward to running activities and then debriefing with the question, “so what purpose did this activity have?”

The class is incredibly chatty (better too chatty, then zero conversations), but there are pockets that pose problems. About 5 students do not talk, neither as part of the whole class, nor in small group work. 3 students do not pay attention about 75% of the time and when you get their attention, do not seem positive about the work. 1 student always wants to speak, but doesn’t always have something to say. And 3 or 4 other students are respectful of their colleagues, but have tendencies to speak over others (mostly because they want to contribute on the same subject). While all the students have welcoming personalities, I’m left wondering how do I differentiate for 11-12 students, plus for any other needs that arise after day 1? It’s a daunting task. I’m thinking about activities I might like to run and some serious roadblocks that may arise. Do I simply scrap them or do I run them and hope everyone follows along? I remember some teachers I had in my own education that would likely just get rid of the activities and talk at the class while others would push through and leave the stragglers behind. It’s daunting to say the least and I do not pretend to have an answer or ideas about it. Maybe in a few days, something will come to me.

My point of this post, though, is that despite being sick, being uncomfortable, not knowing what to expect, and a fairly overwhelming class, I still seemed to establish some legitimacy as a potential educator for these students. My gender, I believe, benefits me. Boys might gravitate towards a male while females might gravitate towards a female (not a hard rule, but seems mostly consistent). But I was also a problem solver for a couple students – instead of going to my associate teacher, I was their first choice for their issues. They listened to me (not that they didn’t listen to my AT) which was helpful and they bought into some initiatives I tried. When a student asked me what a word meant, I would casually walk up to the board, write the word and then ask the class it’s meaning. After defining it, I urged the class to define it based on the context of the reading in front of us (i.e. in the specific sentence, what does it mean?). The first time I did this short aside, I had mostly observing eyes. The second and third times were collaboration.

And finally, I think I sealed the deal near the end of the day. The former principal at Rideau always said, be as honest with your students as you are comfortable being. One activity asked the class to answer some questions about themselves and one question requested the student explicate about their family (a mostly harmless question, such as “Tell me about your family?”). Several students instantly objected and queried if they could leave it blank or what should they do if they had issues at home. While my associate teacher handled the concerns in a professional, respectful and democratic way (ex. It’s not for anyone except me, I’m not being nosey, write what you feel comfortable writing among many other accommodations), I felt I wasn’t being honest (I had been mostly silent). I wrote on the board “what does [associate teacher’s name] need to know in order for me to be successful?” I put this question to the class as the lens through which they should look at these questions and then I provide a true anecdote. I briefly explained how growing up, my own family went through problems. I recalled my brother being arrested (one of the times because I called the police on him), my family attending family councilling and I explained that at one point, for a period of time, no one in my household was working, i.e. zero dollar bills coming in. I stated that I wish my teachers at the time knew some of the situation because the external stresses were often too much. I had one student ask if what I said was true, to which I replied in the affirmative. I related to the students and while their concerns at home may be different than my own, I feel they understand that I understand and we only want to know so that we can help them. My associate teacher finished by saying that while homework is important, it is not the end of the world and she wants to be able to accommodate when the students need her to.

Do I believe the day went perfectly? No. Do I believe I will never have issues with these students? No. Do I believe that I made the students a little more relaxed in a new environment? Yes. At the end of the day, one student returned and presented me with a souvenir he brought back from his visit to China this past summer. I don’t know why he gave it to me, but it eant so much to me. If he appeared to appreciate me when I felt I was near or at my worst, I cannot wait to give him my best. Writing this post (which is far longer than I intended), I can only think of my favourite children’s book, The Little Engine That Could. Glashan seeks to alter the mindset from a fixed “I can’t” to a growing “I can’t yet.” Well, I prefer moving from “I think I can” to “I thought I could.”