The new season
It
was about a week and a half before teachers were to be back at school and I
was in Walmart looking for some school supplies for our school start up. It was not that I needed anything in
particular. I am a high school principal
but I am a teacher first and I love to walk up and down the aisles of school
supplies and look at the different types of note pads, scribblers, binders,
colored pencils, paper and all of the new items that students will choose to put
into their clean desks and lockers on their first day of school. The smell of the new school supplies, the
packaging, and the colors stirs an excitement in me towards the new school
year. It is amazing how after
thirty-three years of being an educator I still feel the excitement, the
anxiety and the apprehension in anticipation of that first day of school. In my case I and wondering what will I say to
my staff? What message will I give them
to guide them into the new school year?
What will our student body and parents be like this year? What will I wear on the first day? These feelings of excitement and anticipation
I feel today are just as strong now as they were on my first day as a teacher
thirty-three years ago. Like many of my
educator colleagues I will not sleep well or at all on the night before that
big day.
I
noticed a dad in the store with three little children. It looked like they were in grades ranging
from about grades one to grade three.
They were all running around in awe looking at all of the things they
might put into the blue Walmart basket that dad was carrying. Each of them had one or two things in their
hands. Colored pencils, football erasers,
note pads with pictures of Pokémon on them and fancy rulers. Dad was trying to defuse their excitement but
it was far beyond his ability to control.
Then I heard some nasty words come from the mouth of dad. “Put those things back, I will be the one
deciding what we are going to buy” Now I
do not want to pick on this dad and I understand that parents have to be
fiscally responsible and also buy what might be listed on the school supply
lists from the school. But I believe
that it is counterproductive to curtail or supress the excitement of a child’s
anticipation and excitement for the first day of school. And shopping for new school supplies and new
clothes is where this excitement and fire deep inside begins to burn. I reflect on my excitement and anticipation
for the new school year, and wow, I realize theirs must be off the charts.
Hearing those words made me a little sad for those children.
At our
school prior to the first week of school students come in select their lockers,
pick up timetables and make any changes in their programming that needs to be
done and have their school pictures taken for school identification. We start this process at 7:30 a.m... By 6:30 a.m. we already have students lined
up. And yes, these are high school
students. The excitement, anticipation and motivation to be back at school is
in all of us and age, grade or being an educator of any sort does not seem to
matter. The anticipation of a new school
year is like Christmas. All members of
the school community seem to be excited about this new season. Even the Staples commercials on TV tell us that
it’s the most wonderful time of the year.
Use the fuel that is generated by the excitement of the
anticipation of the new school year to motivate and encourage your students and
children to appreciate the joy of learning the whole year. I wish you all a great school start-up and
year and look forward to hearing your thoughts and stories on the successes of
your students as they progress throughout the school year.
Something to think
about:
1.
What do you, can you do, to bottle the excitement
and energy of the anticipation of the new school year in yourself and your students
so that it carries over into student learning for the entire year?
2.
What does your school/community do help support
and create excitement for the first day of school for those students who might
not have the same opportunities in preparation for the first day of school?
3.
What are some of the rituals that you do in
preparation for the first day of school?
4.
Share your stories and experiences of that
incredible first day of the school year.
Please share your thoughts and comments to these questions
and on this topic. I would love to hear
them.
By Bill Schlacht
@BSchlacht
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