My former colleagues meet their students for the first time tomorrow, so let’s get right into the lounge.
There is an excitement to the coming of fall and a new school year. New year, new possibilities, new energy. Besides my colleagues, it is the buzz and vitality of a blank page (a fresh start) that I will miss the most. Thank you, Eve Merriam for the metaphor.
TEACHER OF THE YEAR
I had heard through the grapevine, or a group text, that one of my direct colleagues Tim Sanderson was named Glastonbury Teacher of the Year. This was confirmed on a Facebook post. I am thrilled for Tim, as he is an incredible, dedicated teacher and a wonderful human being. I am also thrilled that, finally, a high school ELA teacher has received this award. It’s been a long time coming. I just hope that all of his extra responsibilities do not interfere with his morning basketball games.
DEAR P.
Okay. Some advice for my fellow teachers as they return to the classroom.
- Take it a day at a time. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and although trite, very true. More importantly, since most schools now start in August, looking too far ahead will only cause anxiety and make the days seem to drag. Teachers have to plan ahead, but staying in the moment allows for flexibility and reflection in a small sample size
- Let kids be kids. I forgot this one, and it is one of the reasons I was compelled to leave. They will make mistakes. They will say inappropriate things. They will lack motivation. Even the best and the brightest are still finding themselves. It is our job to help them do so.
- Get to know them on the first day. Do not bore them with a dry litany of the rules and policies. They will want to catch up with their classmates and expend some energy. Let them. Have them respond to a piece of writing. Have them interview each other based on a list of questions. Have them write about anything or everything. I would eschew writing about their names or what they did on their summer vacation. Be creative. Be accessible. Be human.
- I borrowed this one from Roger Rosenblatt in an article about Advice for a Graduate. Avoid complaint. My colleagues are going to call me out on this one as I am a notorious complainer. Most of my complaints stem from a romantic sensibility and a notion of the way things could be, instead of the way things are. I often start off conversations about education with: The problem with education is.
- Complaining does not change anything, and my catch phrase was intended to promote conversation and to generate solutions. So, problem solve. Be courageous. Direct the narrative in a positive way.
- Lean on your colleagues. Not literally. Okay if it comes to that. Lean on them for support, guidance, and perspective. Lean on them for help in the classroom, and lean on them outside the classroom as well. Happy hours were invented for workers to blow off steam, commiserate, and forget just for a little bit. Teachers work hard, and the demands of teaching have become so extensive that there is insufficient time to just “hang” with your fellow teachers. When you get the opportunity to do it, take it.
- Lastly, do not gossip. News travels through schools like Taco Bell through my compromised gastrointestinal track. The students will flood the halls with rumors and aspersions. Stay clear of it. Stay professional and respectful of any information you are afforded.
AMAZING
Teachers are wonderful, intelligent, gifted, skilled, compassionate, but I am putting a formal request to remove the word “amazing” from common expression and hopefully, from the dictionary, itself. Amazing means causing surprise or wonder; astonishing. That is a high accolade to describe most things attributed to that adjective lately. I mean the Sistine Chapel is amazing. The Na Pali Coast is amazing. Even some of the acts on America’s Got Talent are amazing. But does everyone who dresses up look amazing? Is cake amazing? That must be some cake. A simple change would be to call something striking, but I suggest stupefying or flabbergasting; they certainly have more pop than the tired “amazing.”
P’s. Point of Pellucidity
An easy way to teach appositives. An appositive is something that “sits next to.” The strict rule is that the apposite is the less specific item in a consecutive pair. My students had a hard time combining and punctuating appositives and appositive phrases using the strict rule. So here’s the trick. Just teach the appositive as a “repeater.” Thank you, Ms. Goldstein. Then apply this simple rule. S before G, add the C. Specific before general, add commas. Mr.P., my English teacher, talks loudly. G before S, don’t mess. My teacher Mr.P. talks loudly. It may not suit E.B. White, but it will make it much simpler and more likely to be incorporated by your students.
Best of luck to all teachers, paras, administrators, support staff, parents, students and pets as the new school year begins.
Love, laughter and language,
P.