The First Days of School

The first days of class are very fun for me as an administrator. I get to look on as tot and primary teachers deal with new crying, screaming, kicking children as well as confused and anxious parents or as elementary teachers welcome back children they missed over the summer months. I luxuriously watch as the tot and primary teachers strive to bring peace to the chaos that descends on their classrooms and lay the foundation for a productive year of learning and growing and the elementary teachers establish an atmosphere replete with challenges and benchmarks of progressive academics. At times, it's like watching educated, professional women try to herd cats; other times it's like watching wizards perform magic.

The tot environment can sometimes seem like it is on the verge of imploding during the first days. From the wails of the ones who have just separated from their primary caregiver for the first time ever to the babble of the returning older children who spent the last three months perfecting their verbalization skills, I often wonder if we shouldn't soundproof that room. But the great din of noise speaks volumes (no pun intended) about the complexity of that age, the lessons they are learning, and the many, many different aspects of development that they are in a sensitive period for including movement, language development, awareness of order and time, good manners, and much more.

In the primary classroom, whether the students are 3, 4, or 5 years old, they come into the environment wide-eyed, either with excitement or fear, taking in everything from the tenor of the teacher's face and voice to all the works available on the shelves. Looking innocent and inexperienced, they then proceed to wreak havoc...standing when asked to sit, running when asked to walk, touching when asked to listen. Much of the first lessons for new primary students center around learning to following the routines and procedures of the classroom and rising to the expectations set for them.

Contrasted with the noise and bedlam of the younger classrooms, you won't know lower and upper elementary students are present unless you take time to peak into the classroom to make sure they haven't left the building. Speaking just above a whisper, the teachers guide students in a familiar fashion to familiar activities. The challenge no longer lies in simply learning to function appropriately in the environment; that skill has hopefully long been mastered. No, the new charge lies in sparking the imagination, learning to reason, developing moral awareness, and establishing rules for self and peers as well as synthesizing new and difficult academic skills.

If you happen to catch a glimpse of one of our environments in progress this week, don't judge. It's harder than it looks to turn the first days of school into a school year that has meaning and productivity. And if you think about it - take time to encourage a teacher this week. They need it!