First Day of School

The kids came back to school yesterday, and things went smoothly. I was glad to see them. Being around them keeps me young, except for the times they do or say things that make me realize they live in a different world that I don' know, don't understand, and don't really want to be a part of. Then the generation gap looms huge, but nothing like that happened yesterday. It was fun getting them to talk about their feelings concerning their senior year of high school. I think they're a good bunch of kids, but there are so many of them - 30, to be exact, and that makes them the largest class I've ever had. We were really packed into the room with all their backpacks covering the floor.

I had them fill out a questionnaire, and was heartened to learn that almost all of them attend church weekly. It's good to know that I can handle difficulties from a spiritual basis knowing that they will understand.

The worst part of the day was the heat. At 9:45, the room was already HOT! By the time class ended at 11:20, we were all sweating. For some reason, the air conditioning just does not reach that upstairs room. I felt like the students were very attentive considering how miserably hot they were.

I did not finish everything I had planned to do. The principal and senior counselor came in to talk to them and took up quite a bit of time. I took a lot of time myself to talk about my expectations and theirs for this class. I really wanted to set the mood for the year on the first day. As I said, these are good kids, but they have been together for years and are just too familiar with each other and the school. That translates into them feeling free to socialize at all times, and I wanted them to understand that I could not allow that during class. Meeting only twice a week, there just won't be time for it.

I didn't get to the Powerpoint presentation I had made on an introduction to government, but I did set it up with my laptop and the digital projector, and it worked! I'll use it on Thursday.

All in all, it felt good to be back in the classroom. I guess teaching is in my blood and always will be.