A Dose of Confidence

 On Friday, our district has a Professional Development Day. I, as it turns out, am hosting one of the workshops. Suitably, my workshop is on blogging. I feel at home with this content. The learning process and continuous hunger to be "more"-to know more, do more, learn more, see more, experience more, is innately "me," as it is innately characteristic of many of our second graders. Thus, I blog as an outlet to reach out to you, 2B's parent and family community, but also to express myself "more" than I could if I didn't blog. So talking and guiding learners on blogging? That part is okay with me, but...

The truth is: I am a newbie! This is a year of nothing but new for me, you know this. A new teacher. A new classroom. New students. New families. A new district. A new group of professionals. So, as I prepare for my interactive workshop on blogging, I've asked myself (admittedly more than once in the past few days): can I do this? Walk confidently into a room of experienced educators I respect and admire and be in the driver's seat? Turns out, I've found my answer in Room 2B.

As your child's trusty, first-year, second grade teacher, I am pouring my heart and brains into the classroom like I haven't poured my heart and brains into anything ever before. Do you know why this is? Well, there are many reasons. But one of the reasons is this: every day, when I walk into 2B with too-many bags balancing precariously on my shoulders and flick on the lights, I am reminded by the fact that once again, my day is full of "firsts." It is the first time I am teaching the lessons I am teaching in every content area that day. Sometimes, I let this truth make my eyes wide, my mind spin, and my body move at a superwoman speed, rushing around and prepping for the day's lessons. So this week, in thinking about teaching and learning with our second graders, I've also been thinking about this "first" for me in presenting at a professional meeting in our district. When the students entered 2B yesterday morning, though, I looked at them and realized: they, too, experience a day of "firsts" each day, like I do. It is the first day they have been engaged in that day's teaching and learning ever. And it is the only day they will be ever again! How unique and beautiful. How trusting, kind, open they are.

I draw parallels with our second graders all the time, but for me, this was quite a meaningful one. It is always, always moment-stopping when our second graders give me a dose of perspective. Teach me something. Give me the gift of professional growth. And guess what? It happens all the time. My hope is that I return the favor.

So, think of me Friday morning, as I walk in to the workshop I am leading with a smile of confidence and reassurance that our second graders gave me.

And enjoy a few pictures of us at work from this week in Social Studies!