Stuck in First Gear

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

Robert Burns

In a recent blog post, The Slow Horse Out of the Gate, Eva Thompson shared her reflections on the start of the school year.  As you may guess from her title, it's not off to the start she had hoped for despite careful planning and preparation. And it's not going as well as she remembers Septembers past. She reflects on why that may be and then decides that she must shake off September and move forward into October with positivity.

Her post brought back memories of my first year teaching a Grade 2/3 combined class.  I had been teaching kindergarten for nine years and, for a range of reasons, wanted a change.  I ended up with a new assignment at a new school. New colleagues, new community and lots of new curriculum to learn. That same fall I started my masters degree.

I spent the summer planning and as the new school year started, I felt confident and prepared.  That feeling lasted only a few days.  The Language Arts and Math lessons I had planned were not at my students' level.  I had to quickly adjust and readjust as I began to get to know my students' strengths and areas for growth.

My carefully developed classroom set up was disrupted when new desks arrived.  I had no idea they had been ordered, and while grateful for the shiny new furniture, they were significantly larger than the previous desks.  The desks took up classroom space I had already dedicated to other learning centres.

Like Eva, I had to shake off my September struggles and forge ahead into October with new desks and new long range plans.  I signed up for professional learning sessions for teaching math and writing, and found a grade 3 teaching mentor who supported me throughout that year.  I was a year of remarkable growth and learning, for the students and for me as a teacher.

What strategies have you used when rebounding from a less than satisfying start to the school year?

Note: I found Eva' blog from Doug Peterson's post: This Week In Ontario Edublogs.  Thanks Doug!

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