Another First Day of School…

…Perhaps it could be safely said that was a little bit different than the others*. Not entirely- I had to keep in mind that I am back in an Elementary School (goes through Grade 9 here). However, some differences were slightly more bizarre than others. This was my experience:

8:00 Grades 2-9 go to their homeroom classes. Grade 1 watches the most ridiculous socialism-era-influenced teacher-performance of the first day of school that I have ever seen. I did not really have a place to go, so I wandered around the library and dreamed about the days where I could find Science Fiction/Fantasy books in English.

9:00ish Passing period. The kids, of course, are animals. It’s here, though, that I notice for the first time that students are not wearing shoes. They are wearing house slippers. Why, I ask another teacher? Because it’s healthier. Healthier than the alternative… of going barefoot?

9:15ish Resuming first period. I walk in with my co-teacher, Jana. Everyone immediately stands up when she walks into the room. Every single student looks suspicious, but they are silent and standing in respect. Yes, I will demand this for the rest of my life. But not just in school.

10:00 Snack. I like this in school snack time. I assume that the kiddos have brought granola bars or something. Not quite. The 3 “classroom helpers” for the week go down to the cafeteria to retrieve the snack. What’s on the menu today? Milk, rolls, tea and roasted red peppers. Huh? Oh right, I forgot- nothing helps you focus for the rest of the day like roasted red peppers in olive oil, eating for a snack during my class.

11:00 Dismissal. Where did the kids go? I don’t know, but they went real fast.
PUMPED for day 2.


*An important footnote: I am only including my public education days here in my opinion of “normal first days”. Clearly, I have had some very interesting first days in the KU Cadaver labs, where we begin on Day 1 to skin dean human beings. This is a bit…awkward. For example, a student or two will usually pass out while I try to maintain order and bring in a little sunshine at the same time. I would say that I’ve had many failed first days (Spring 2009 really wasn’t ready for the choreographed dance to “If You Want Blood”, nor the video that you can watch in the 2009 Blog post entitled "First Day of Class... who says I'm not intimidating?"), and also many successes (Spring 2010 ATE UP the cadaver-appropriate rendition of “It’s Rainin’ Men”, performed on the auto-harp).