So you survived the first day and got over the fact that you left everything in a clump in the back closet. (Remember those memories, right?) The last couple days have been going great and it seems that your classroom is finally taking shape. Rather than looking like an abandoned old building that has some sort of funky smell to it, it now is beginning to look like a learning palace full of books, knowledge, and that smell. (Seriously what is that smell? Note to self: ask for Febreeze on my wish list!)
You have survived seeing the asthma and Epi-pen video for the millionth time and have even had a few hardy, yet free breakfasts. Everything seems to be looking up...and then it happens. The day that you kind of look forward to yet kind of dread. That day when you receive....YOUR ROSTER! (DUN, DUN, DUN)
So why is this such a terrifying day? I mean they are just kids right? Then you think back to last year when that one kid decided to take the milk from the cafeteria and and slam it under the cooler door until it all exploded everywhere. Or that other kid who thought it would be a good idea to take the still live frogs from the science closet and let them loose in the halls. And suddenly it hits you....what if you have those kids? What will you do? You constantly hear all of the horror stories and are dreading looking at that list.
Once you put your big girl (or boy) panties on and look you see them....the milk girl, the frog boy, even the underwear twins (you don't even know what that means, but it can't be good). After a brief period of rocking back and forth in the corner you have a realization.....who cares who those kids were or what they did. They are your kids now. They have a fresh start and clean minds. Their minds are yours to mold and their spirits are yours to lift. It's a new year and you don't care what happened in the past, everyone gets a clean slate.
Kids will be kids and they will have their moments. You will have good and you will have bad but at the end of the day they are all YOUR students and you wouldn't change that for the world. Everyone has a past but if we all held what we did in the past against each other, where might we be? (Just ask any politician!) Whether you like it or not, these are your kids and you are going to teach them. Not only that, but you are also going to support them, laugh with them, and sometimes even get angry at them. But no matter what happens you are always going to be proud of them. So forget what you have heard about them and just look forward. Wipe the slate clean and start the year fresh. Heck, before you know it, you will be laughing about the time that kid smashed the milk all over the wall!
You have survived seeing the asthma and Epi-pen video for the millionth time and have even had a few hardy, yet free breakfasts. Everything seems to be looking up...and then it happens. The day that you kind of look forward to yet kind of dread. That day when you receive....YOUR ROSTER! (DUN, DUN, DUN)
So why is this such a terrifying day? I mean they are just kids right? Then you think back to last year when that one kid decided to take the milk from the cafeteria and and slam it under the cooler door until it all exploded everywhere. Or that other kid who thought it would be a good idea to take the still live frogs from the science closet and let them loose in the halls. And suddenly it hits you....what if you have those kids? What will you do? You constantly hear all of the horror stories and are dreading looking at that list.
Once you put your big girl (or boy) panties on and look you see them....the milk girl, the frog boy, even the underwear twins (you don't even know what that means, but it can't be good). After a brief period of rocking back and forth in the corner you have a realization.....who cares who those kids were or what they did. They are your kids now. They have a fresh start and clean minds. Their minds are yours to mold and their spirits are yours to lift. It's a new year and you don't care what happened in the past, everyone gets a clean slate.
Kids will be kids and they will have their moments. You will have good and you will have bad but at the end of the day they are all YOUR students and you wouldn't change that for the world. Everyone has a past but if we all held what we did in the past against each other, where might we be? (Just ask any politician!) Whether you like it or not, these are your kids and you are going to teach them. Not only that, but you are also going to support them, laugh with them, and sometimes even get angry at them. But no matter what happens you are always going to be proud of them. So forget what you have heard about them and just look forward. Wipe the slate clean and start the year fresh. Heck, before you know it, you will be laughing about the time that kid smashed the milk all over the wall!