Today is not my first day of school…so why does it feel like it.
My first day of the 2013-2014 school year began 2 weeks ago…a big day for me as it was also my only child’s first day of pre-school! I was all jitters…but the odd thing is I find myself with the same jitters driving into to work today. I hadn’t thought about the first school day all weekend. But as I drove closer into the district I felt the first day anticipation and anxiety come over me…like a wave of butterflies caught in my stomach. It was like being 12 again…wondering what would come of anew school…
The butterflies signify my hope to make a difference…To share encouraging words with impressionable ears and a listening ear to the less receptive student who feels like no one understands. I take the challenge of improving middle school attendance and behavior…providing seamless transition to families with special needs students and hope to the unaccompanied youth I will come across this year.
Not my first convocation but a life changing one…The keynote speaker, longtime teacher, author and motivational speaker Rafe Esquith, grabbed my ear last week, and his message continues to ring true to me.
“There are no shortcuts. Do one new thing this year. Change the level of thinking.”
If we bring love into our work with students…they just may follow. He stated that he begins each new school year with a new project…I plan on borrowing from his energy. I want to start each year with a new motto…and stick to it through the thick and thin days…
It takes Heart to Make Change…
In all that I do this year I plan on bringing my heart, myself into my work. I can make change if I trust in myself…and there is nothing I trust more than my heart. It has guided me through the happiest and hardest times in my life…it lead me to my profession. A trait I would not trade in the world…it’s my super power.
I’m not sure what the new year will bring…but I do know what I bring with me…heart and change. It may be small…but it will hit you when you least expect it.
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- Rafe Esquith “Real Talk For Real Teachers” (radioalice.cbslocal.com)