Optimism
So, for the past eight school years, I haven’t set up a classroom. I haven’t participated in the pre-planning with a staff of educators. I haven’t sat through countless meetings that could have been emails. I haven’t reviewed curricular materials, made unit plans, thought about what to do on the first day, or met with parents to learn about the incredible human beings I’ll get to work with and learn from for the next 180 school days. I haven’t been overwhelmed by how big of an ask it is to prepare a space for 20-ish students to nearly live in for the next year.
And, even with all that, I love pre-planning. I always have.
I miss the optimism that each school year brings. I miss the feeling that this year, unlike any year before it, will be better…will be different. That this will be year that I do everything I’ve ever dreamt of doing in the classroom. And that each and every kiddo will find every activity, task, intervention, plan, game, and routine that we do to be the best and most fulling thing they’ve ever done. And even though I know that won’t be the reality - I miss the blindly optimistic feeling that it will be.
I miss the beginning.
And that’s exactly where I get to be on Monday. The beginning. The beginning of a year long cycle where lives literally change in front of you. A cycle where I become a different teacher and human being because of the experiences and lives with whom I get to interact.
Monday will be my first day with the incredible team at The Discovery School. And, I have no idea what the day, much less the year, will hold. But, I am excited. I am optimistic. I am ready.