The first week of school has come and gone, and I'm still standing. It was quite a whirlwind of activity, with staff meetings on Monday and the first students arriving Tuesday. Luckily, fate granted me a little extra time to prepare, and I didn't have students until Wednesday. I really needed this extra time, and I used it to put my classroom together and attempted to get a handle on all the different courses I am teaching. I am teaching seven different courses, and while the curriculum is already put together lesson by lesson, it still takes me a long time to go through the lessons myself and figure out how to best present the information. Currently what's taking the most time is teaching myself "Macbeth" so that I can teach it to the girls. I haven't read "Macbeth" since college, so I'm pretty rusty. I've also never worked in a school with curriculum that is planned lesson by lesson, and while there is room to modify things for my particular classes, it seems that most of the other English teachers pretty much stick to the planned lessons, so I am following with that as well. That being said, it's been a challenge for me to teach lessons that I didn't create because I don't really have my head wrapped around them yet. But it's a gift, really, to have the prep work already done, and once I get used to the ready-made lessons I'm sure things will be easier all around.
The staff at my new school is simply amazing. I have met SO many great people this week, and I can't even recall everyone who took a moment out of their day to come to me, introduce themselves, and check in with how I am doing. It felt so good to be supported by these lovely people who I had just met. I was even invited out to the pub a couple of times (of course, I said yes), and I feel like I'm already making friends, which is a relief to me because I miss my friends back home so dearly. I am truly lucky to have been placed at this school.
As for my students, I've really enjoyed meeting them. My new school is all girls, which I've never taught in before. I was kind of anxious about what the classroom would feel like with all girls. The boys back home tend to give the classroom a lighter, more playful feel. But the girls in my lessons are great! They are lively and funny, and eager to learn--even on the first day! I have been very impressed with the culture of participation that has been developed at the school. The girls get to class quickly and start working on the opening activity right away (most of them without prompting), they raise their hands to answer questions, and they even say thank you at the end of lessons. I am sure I will have to be very tough with my classroom management and carefully use the school's discipline system to keep this focused atmosphere going, but so far, so good.
Another thing that I love is that they call all of their teachers "Miss" or "Sir." It's very cute! Most times, they don't even add our last names, but just say, "Miss" or "Sir." Back home, things had gotten so casual that many of my students just called me by my last name. What a change this is! I love it when I'm walking through the corridors, and one of my girls says, "Hi Miss" as she passes. Makes me smile every time.
Thinking back on last week, I realize how unnecessarily nervous was for my lessons to begin. All the anticipation and planning and stewing about things made me doubt myself, and it was odd to feel like such a beginner again. I had become so comfortable at my home school that first days of school were really no big deal for me anymore. I knew the school policies, I knew the staff, I knew many of the students, and I knew I was a good teacher. But Tuesday night, I felt a bit lost. At my new school, I'm still learning all those things about how the school is run, how systems work, who the staff is, and how to best serve these girls. So it was understandable how nervous I felt, though I wish I would have had more faith in myself and pushed those nerves away. But a funny thing happened when the girls came into my classroom Wednesday morning. It sounds cheesy, I know, but I swear that as I started the lesson, a sense of peace came over me, my nerves disappeared, and I felt like me again. It was like muscle memory kicking in, but in my head and my heart instead my body. It was like my heart said, "Ah, yes, this is teaching. You can do this." And I did.
