I know, I know- for all of you non-academic types out there, the calendar reads “August”, but for me and mine, it’s a brand new year!
It’s why I love teaching. It’s why I loved school. Every August is a brand new slate. A brand new clean organizer. A brand new start. This year, I will be organized. This year, I will be on top of assignments. This year, I won’t make the mistakes that I made last year. Right now- it’s all possibility and anything is possible.
One of the secrets that teachers don’t tell is that we’re excited about the first day of school, too. We don’t sleep that night before either. We plan out our clothes and our lunches and our activities with tiny attention to detail so that we can feel in control of the vast unknowns. We want to know who’s in our class, what are we going to be asked to do, will it be hard?
I watched Ray go through his Trapper Keeper yesterday and saw him planning on a brand new school year- one in which he’s organized. One in which he’s on top of things. A year in which Tourette’s and anxiety and autism do not win- ever.
And I watch Elizabeth plan her clothing scrupulously as if the right top, the right pants will make the ocean currents of fourth grade girl friendships more navigable. A year where autism and giftedness and being nine years old do not conflict and do not hinder- ever.
All of us, planning, excited, fearful, and anticipatory.
…..
I have a quote that I have always shared with my students the first week of class by Shel Silverstein:
“If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!”
And so we prepare for the first day, my children and I, all with bated breath about this coming year- We want to know who’s in our class, what are we going to be asked to do, will it be hard?
It’s all possible…
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