In 2016 I was a brand new teacher. I spent a full school year co-teaching with a master teacher, and I had my preliminary teaching license. All of that preparation and I still had no idea what I was really in for on my first day!
I’ll never forget what happened on the first day of school my first year teaching. Everything was going smoothly 1st period. I went over the syllabus, classroom rules, and we were getting into our fun activity. My Favorite Things, to be specific. I passed out all of the papers and was making my way back to my teaching spot so I could write under the document camera.
I noticed something was off on one side of the room. Students were reacting to a little commotion. Two students were arguing at their conjoined desks. One student, Estelle, looked distraught. Her voice was getting louder and more agitated. Her elbow partner looked totally confused and stayed completely still and silent, hoping not to get in trouble.
I came over and saw for my own eyes what was upsetting Estelle. A tiny corner of her elbow partner’s paper was touching her desk. Before I could do anything, she yelled at the top of her lungs, GET YOUR THINGS OFF MY DESK! Without warning, she used both arms to sweep everything off of both of their desks. Pencils, notebooks, and papers went flying up into the air.
The entire class was stunned. They were wide-eyed and silent, and they were all looking to me to handle the situation and make everything OK.
Nothing like this ever happened when I was co-teaching or substitute teaching. And it definitely wasn’t covered in any of my education classes.
You can know your subject and pedagogy, but no one teaches you all of the ins and outs of being a teacher. It all comes with practice and experience. And lots of advice and coaching from teacher friends and mentors.
If today was your first day on the job, I hope it was smooth and went great. If you had a few hiccups, don’t let it get you down. It doesn’t mean that the rest of the year will be hard. I have more first day of school stories, and while they were challenging at the time, now I just look back and laugh about them. Keep problem solving and developing your skills to become the kind of teacher you want to be.
Good luck! Check out my blog posts below for beginning of the year ideas to start the year off right!
How She Teaches 