Round Two!

Round Two, y'all (Do I pass as Southern yet? Haha, nope...er, no ma'am! sir? I give up.)

Today was the first day of my second year of teaching! It's crazy how fast last year flew by, and the summer flew by even faster (as it always does).

Last week was full of meetings--professional developments and general faculty meetings, all chock full of information (ahem, mostly useful). There was a lot of scrambling to get done, but I noticed a significantly lower amount of stress than last year. As I prepared my classroom and thought about all that I needed to do (and still need to do, as I'm writing this), I reflected on the stress of last year: I had just moved into a new apartment in a new state for a new job, with an apartment in shambles of moving boxes (I will forever be sending my mother a bazillion thanks for unpacking my ENTIRE apartment) and a classroom for which I had 0 decorations and 0 ideas. Phew. Thankfully, this year, my classroom mostly stayed the same (my favorite still being my dictionary-page bulletin board) and the addition of some new hand-made posters/signs AND A MOUNTED PROJECTOR. You have no idea how EXCITED I am about that. Yes, I know, I'm a nerd.

As I was reflecting during my post at morning duty (making sure the kiddos go where they're supposed to be going in the morning), I realized that it doesn't feel like I've started a new school year. It feels like we had some time off, but I don't feel like it's a NEW year. We just had a break and now it's time to keep going! Except with all new classes? Yep! I still feel like I'm supposed to be a newbie first-year teacher, even though I'm not the newest at the school anymore, and it's not my first year anymore.

And then the students came. I started the day energized and ready, and was greeted with UTTER SILENCE. Seriously, complete silence, even when I asked them questions or tried to joke around with them (I am definitely not a follower of the No-smile-til-Christmas rule). I guess I forgot how ridiculously shy the classes are, as a whole. I know that will not last long, and I should be relishing in the silence for now, but when you're trying to get to know them and introduce them to the classroom rules and procedures, you sure do feel like you're talking to a wall when all you back get are blank stares. Sheesh. Not to mention all the repetition, since all three classes today were German 1 classes (the last one is technically the 4x4 class that will meet every day and do German 1 and 2 in a year, but they're still starting out as German 1). I had to repeat the same intro information over and over and over. Fun. Tomorrow will be some familiar faces and some unfamiliar faces, most who already know the ins-and-outs of the German department and have some basis in the German language. To be honest, I'm not yet 100% sure how to do the class of last year's students differently than today, since so far, in my whole one year and one day of teaching, all first days have been brand new classes of brand new (to me) students.

I'm also anxious for tomorrow's first class, being my only class with any of my own students from last year, to see how much they actually remember of German. Two and a half months of NO foreign language (because I am not kidding myself into believing they even thought about German at all over their summer) is like an eternity in teacher years.

I also realized how much I already miss some kids from last year. I knew that I would, but seeing them in the hallway made me realize how blessed I was with some truly awesome students last year. Some stopped by between classes or shouted hello as they walked past, many expressing regret that they didn't have me as a teacher this year--I didn't inform any of them that I wouldn't be teaching German 3 this year, because I knew they'd just complain. Students want what they're used to and that's it; they don't like change. It warmed my heart and made me more excited to get to know the students from this year.

So, here's hoping this year is as good as last year. Everyone says the first year is the worst, so I'm hoping that's true. Not because last year was bad, but because if that was the worst, it's only going to be awesome from here on out ;-)