Ah, the final days of August! As the heat of summer burns out its intensity in a last ditch effort to remind us that fall has not quite arrived, students throughout the nation wave a tearful goodbye to months of leisure. Children, your “freedom as free lances/Advances towards its end.” The sky is still good for flying, however, and you are not dying, children, not dying![1] As one season ends, so another begins, each bringing new promise, new tasks, and new challenges. And, honestly, is there anything better than the smell of new books and freshly sharpened pencils? Oh how I love this time of year!

This year I welcome the start of school with even more than my usual excitement as I begin my student teaching. So far I have had several chances to meet with my mentor teacher and help set up the classroom, attended two orientations and training over the Marzano teacher evaluation system, met all of the students I will be working with next semester, and attended the first regular class for each of the two classes I am observing this semester. I am thankful to have a veteran mentor teacher who is very welcoming and easy to talk to. Although we have a number of things in common, we are also very different, particularly in teaching and classroom management style, and I think I will learn a lot from her.

As I look out on the start of this fresh new year, I see so much potential to learn, to serve, and to make a difference. In order to make the most of my time and squeeze as much potential out of this year as possible, I need to plan and track my own growth. By evaluating my strengths, weaknesses, and the overall vision I have for teaching, I have identified the following goals for the year.

·      Present at the KATE Conference in October – This is a terrifying prospect for me, which tells me I definitely need to submit a proposal and (if accepted) follow through.

·      Continue to find resources and develop plans for the social justice focus I would like to use in my own classroom – Preparing for the KATE Conference and for my teaching unit will help with this goal.

·      Learn to put my big ideas into detailed, specific, and easily understood lesson plans that work with students – I need to learn how to do this in a way that I can manage on a regular basis without all the overthinking, over researching, and major stressing.

·      Learn and establish good methods, habits, and routines for daily practice

·      Learn and practice effective classroom management – I hate to call it classroom discipline because I want to give students as much autonomy as possible, but I know there will be times that I have to enforce rules or address student behavior. I want to learn how to act authoritatively without being authoritarian. I have a soft spot for those “problem” kids. I know I need to learn how to work with them without letting them walk all over me. My mentor teacher has indicated that she is more of a disciplinarian, so this is one area where I should be able to learn a lot from her.

It’s not a long list, but looks to be both challenging and manageable. Here’s to new beginnings, fresh starts, and another season for growth! Happy new school year!

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[1] I have purposefully misappropriated lines from Louis MacNeice’s poem “Sunlight on the Garden,” which is not at all about going back to school, but it is a very good poem that often pops into my mind. If you’ve never read it, you should; and if you have read it, you should read it again.