Welcome Students!
I am always so inspired by the rippling energy of the first day of school. Former students breeze in between classes to say hello. Freshmen walk wide eyed through the halls (now checking their phones for the latest campus map ap) looking for their classes and a familiar face. Seniors stride around like they own not just this hall, this school, their future, but the whole world.
I miss my students over the summer, and I am always so relieved to get them back again in the fall. They delight me every day, and this first day of school was no exception. I can tell already that 2nd period will be my Cheeky Monkeys, and 6th period will need to talk about Everything. I am eager to find out about the rest of my ducks as the year progresses and they blossom into the adults they will become...
Interestingly, this last weekend was my 25th high school reunion. Many of the people I wanted to see from that time made it to this somewhat intimate gathering and the sentiment I heard over and over was the same... We were all exactly like our high school selves. With the hindsight of 2 decades we marveled at how much of our essential nature was already set by Sophomore year. Indeed, one peer's mom taught us in elementary school and said our natures were settled even then. In many ways I agree. I don't feel much different from my fearless 18 year old self. I might have been faking the confidence I have now earned, but it was still essentially there.
It makes me look with new eyes at my own students and to worry a little bit less about whatever my own shortcomings as a teacher might be. We will grow together, trying all the new things I've planned and creating our own place.
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