{She Said} Fifth First Day

I remember my first first day as a teacher. I remember getting to that fourth period conference/planning period and just sitting and staring at the wall. “This is too much… I won’t make it… I’m not even half way through day one and I’m exhausted… These kids are entirely too needy… “ and so on and so on.


Every year I have a new first day and every year I have the same exhaustion and same thoughts but add a new comment, “I don’t remember it being this hard.”

I really love teaching… I love *almost*everything about it. I love the cycle of the year. That each year you get to start anew. But I don’t particularly care for the first day or week really. I don’t like not knowing my students names or personalities. I don’t like them not knowing mine. I have more brutal experiences of telling a joke and having thirty sets of eyes just stare at me like I’m an idiot on first days.

But- I come and I talk. I smile. I put on a nice outfit (like I did for the first day of school when I was a kid). And I keep telling myself, all day long, that it’s not like this all year. It will get better. I will be more on top of things. And they will laugh at my jokes… right?