When I got to school and started talking to the other teachers down my hall, I started feeling frazzled. They were bringing up issues I hadn't thought about and frankly don't think are all that important. Students eat lunch down our hallway. One teacher wants to make sure the hallway stays clear during lunch. While that would be nice, I have enough to do that keeping the halls clear is not a priority for me. But because it is important to her, I feel like I need to worry about i.
Then I started going through my class rosters and remembering when I did the same thing last year. At that point, none of the names meant anything to me since I was new to the school. I tried to figure out how to pronounce many of the names, wondered who these kids were and thought what the names might say about those students. They were all new and intimidating to me. They were strangers, out to get me because I wasn't the old drama teacher.
At the end of last school year, I found myself remembering that first review of names as I was taking roll. The names had changed. They were now students I loved and was going to miss, students who drove me nuts and made me laugh, students who I hadn't been able to reach. The names of the students who had stuck it out with me my first year, who had jumped into new projects and shown up to help whenever I asked. The year had changed my roster.
Now I know some of the names on my class lists. I chose most of the students in my intermediate and advanced classes. I'm excited to work with them again. I'm anticipating how I can help them and the kinds of successes and challenges they'll have. I love that I recognize those names, and they chose to keep going in drama.
Most of my beginning students are new. There names don't mean much yet. Last year, they scared me. This year, I'm excited by who they will become as the year goes on. So despite losing sleep and lots of minor issues to deal with, I'm looking forward to tomorrow.
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