Beginning of the Year

The beginning of the year is particularly painful for me.  It isn't because I am missing my short summer vacation or because I have to do the whole shebang all over again. Instead it is because I find it hard to remember that these students that sit before me, are not my students of last year.  They are untrained in my ways as a teacher.  I take for granted that my students last year knew that I would always follow up their response with a question asking them to justify or clarify. They are unsure when I am joking and when I am serious. They push the boundaries and question my decisions, they are the untrained sixth graders that I will take and shape until they are better versions of themselves.  By the time I do this, it is time for them to leave me and move on to another school and other teachers.  I sometimes get glimpses of my work when they come back and visit me or email me to say hi.  But until they are the trained versions that I love, I must remind myself to stay patient.