As in years past, the entire faculty met to hear the superintendent's address on the school system's opening day. And once again, the Superintendent wove history, quotes from formidable leaders, and vision together to inspire our work, work that centers on the process of teaching thinking and learning skills while also meeting content standards and students' individual needs.
Our system continues to focus on HEART as the acronym that sums up our goals--a positive set of overriding goals.
Later our school principal had educators share stories of school time inspiration and success. The heart warming, humorous stories reminded everyone that heart is at the center of the work we do and the successes we are proud of.
Later I worked with my new teammate to plan the year's schedule, communication routines, and details related to the curriculum. It was a good start with plenty of time to focus on the important details.
I'm moving from teaching all subjects to focusing mainly on science and math. The change has been dramatic in terms of work load change. Teaching half of the subjects and working with half of the leadership in that regard has made the job more manageable and doable--I have more time to focus on the specifics and details which I like. I'm wondering if this is a good move for all grades since teaching all subjects at this point in the learning/teaching evolution is a LOT of work, perhaps too much for one teacher.
The room is set, the team is made, the materials prepared so on this second day of prep, I'll focus in on more details in order to start the year with strength and care using my learning path post as a guide.
How have your first days of school been? Where are the strengths and where are the challenges? Most importantly are you ready and do you have what you need to teach children well?
