First Day of School
It’s such a wonderfully exciting feeling to be writing this post, and doubly so because I’m writing after a long time. I recently started working as a teacher, and I remember breaking into a cold sweat as I made my way into school on my first day, riddled with self-doubt as to whether or not I was ready for the responsibility. The school was swarming with activity, and I was slowly growing aware of the fact that I was going to be pushed into the sea and would have to find a way to learn to swim.
The first time I met my class was during the time of assembly. We started off on the wrong foot as I remember being aloof and also reprimanding a few boys for not being able to hold still during prayer time. I remember standing in front of them self-consciously while they sized me up contemptuously. I didn’t meet their mental image of a class teacher; I was too little, too thin, too soft-spoken. I stumbled through the first day, struggling with routine teacher duties and reminding myself to catch a breath every now and then. After I got back home, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to go back to school and meet my class ever again. We certainly hadn’t clicked, but I had signed up for this and I clearly didn’t have a choice but to go back.
On the second day, despite feeling cold-shouldered as the good afternoon wishes trickled in hesitantly, I chose to wear my brightest smile and greet them instead. They finally warmed up to me when I taught them their first lesson. It was a cutesy chapter about a little boy and the gift he received on his birthday. We hit it off the moment the subject of minions, superheroes, and Disney princesses came up. That was when they wholeheartedly let me into their world. From that day onward, I was welcomed warmly. I took great pride in being their go-to person for day-to-day issues. I enjoyed how they sought me out to tell me about their tooth hurting or came up to me with complaints about their lost erasers and rulers as if I was the one with all the answers.
I’m still in my teething phase, and I’m looking for alternative means other than screaming my lungs out to get children to listen to me. This means having my patience tried and tested like never before. I enter the class every day to be greeted by complaints of missing sharpeners, scuffles, sobbing children, and that’s when I wear my teacher cape and get started with my day.
In the four weeks since I was assigned a Grade three class, I have developed a significant level of patience. I’ve learned to conceal my true feelings and put on a poker face when dealing with repeated rule-breakers. One thing that certainly hasn’t changed from the time I left my school days behind is the endless queue of children wanting to relieve themselves. I get a request every five minutes or so from children to use the washroom. Some things never change. I once asked all my regular washroom goers to make up stories about why they went to the washroom so often, and they came up with lovely tales of magical gardens and talking commodes that had the whole class in splits.
There are days when I’m at my wit’s end, and nothing seems to work as my class just refuses to listen to me, and I return home dejectedly. But the next day sails by smoothly, almost as if they were telepathically aware that I was upset. I’ve never had to multitask before this, but now I’m expected to be on my toes all the time. I’m teaching, doing routine jobs, looking for lost erasers, sorting out fights, and listening to forty-eight mouths all at once.
There are times when I feel like screaming and making a dash for the classroom door, never to return again. But then I remember that I love the kids irrevocably and look forward to seeing them every day, no matter how exasperating it gets at times.
It’s only the fourth week of school, yet it feels like I’ve been at this forever. Every day is a new day filled with new experiences. I wouldn’t lie and say that I’m loving every bit of it; it’s exhausting and tedious to say the least. But it’s the children who truly keep me motivated and eager for more.
