Day 5: Reflections on the 1st Week

The first week of school is done and this marks my 5th blog post of the 30 day challenge. Time to reflect.

First blogging. Finding the time to blog can be a struggle. It means making my writing a priority. It means giving up some of the other things I do in my spare time. Taking the time to write has been rewarding. I find myself reflecting deeply on my pedagogy and my practice. I find myself filling quiet moments refining my thoughts in order to write them, giving me a stronger grasp on what I am thinking and feeling. I have to remember the growth mind set. I don't need to be riveting. I don't need to be funny. I just need to keep writing. (In case you didn't notice, one of the first rules I decided for myself was to relieve the pressure of writing a blog-a-day. So much better!)

Now school. School has been amazing! I didn't realize just how much a change in environment could rejuvenate my love of teaching. Even as I came home last night completely wiped out by the week, my wife commented on the sparkle in my eye when I spoke about the day. She said that was missing last year. I didn't realize it until now.

What's different? The complete and total uncertainty of a brand new school is definitely a large part of it. It's crazy to think, but the lack of established structures and patterns has been liberating in a way that is hard to explain. We had very few formal structures in place this week (recess/break and lunch was pretty much it). That meant that as a staff we were almost forced to come together in order to provide the type of first week that we wanted. As grade 7 teachers, we met nightly to debrief on the day and plan the next. We decided that we wanted to establish more than a homeroom community, we wanted a Grade 7 Community. So we planned times to team teach with each other and culminated by bringing all 100 of Grade 7's together in one large group lesson on Friday. All of it was absolutely amazing!

As I look ahead, a part of me is relieved by promise of a timetable next week. At the same time, a part of me gets sad. I think I will miss the intimacy and community that came from planning together so closely.

But there is hope. One of the major foundations of our school is the permission to try. The permission to change. The permission to reflect on it, alter it and try it again. I think there was something special about last week and I believe that my school community will allow me (and my colleagues if they feel the same) to take what was beautiful about last week and incorporate it into our future. That, I believe, is what leaves me with the twinkle in eye.