I don't really know why... this will be my 20th-something come back to school, but the fact is that every September, every year I get goose bumps!
If, on the one hand, instability and work overload are upon us teachers, on the other hand, returning to school after some months engaged in far more challenging activities, requires a lot of effort and creativity to keep students focused. Rather than get used to routine, this tends to get worse making every come back to school a bit more thorny.
Anyway, all these years I have never faltered in my purpose to teach English. I am there for my students and because of them; they are not to blame for institutional and governmental changes. Bearing this in mind, my work has always been driven by and focused on student learning and development - both academic and social. Therefore, I have already set my goals for 2013/2014 which, to be honest, have not changed that much over the years. Here they are:
1. Love what I do - I chose this profession and when I enjoy what I am doing (within classroom walls or outdoors), I feel I'm giving my best and that joy is quickly grasped by students. I believe that when they feel they have committed and caring teachers, they'll achieve more;
2. Read academic as well as recreational books - this way I can not only dive into my own professional development, but also do what I most like doing (besides teaching :) of course): Reading!
3. Connect and Collaborate with colleagues, students, staff, parents... on a professional and personal level. Throughout my 20-something professional career, I've shared and learned so much that this is - as far as I am concerned - the only way we can survive, without going nuts - especially now, surrounded by so much hostility by our Ministry of Education, budget cuts, increasing number of students per class and demands in our performance...
Till now I've been fortunate enough not to worry about where I'll be teaching the coming year or even if I'll have a position at all! For completely different reasons though, I just can't help feeling anxious about coming back to school and wish I could skip these first weeks. In the back of my mind are the lyrics of a well known song and, just like the singer, I was wondering if you could just
Wake Me Up When September Ends , when the school year is already well under way? Please???
Thank you for sharing your views and please take a couple of secs to answer only 4 questions in the poll on the right sidebar- no big deal, really, and all will be anonymous.
Happy school year, y'all!
