Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Starting another motherly chapter...

Two more sleeps.
Two more sleeps, Mamaidh!

In just two more sleeps, my daughter will be going to school for her grade primary orientation day. Wow! Can we just stop time for a while, please?!?!

I've been giving the whole "first year at school" thing an awful lot of thought lately... but not just because my little girl will be starting school.... more so because I'm a teacher.  And... I'll be teaching my own daughter for a half hour each day come the fall.

My inner debate surrounds which hat will I be wearing in the classroom with my own flesh and blood in front of me? Teacher hat? Parent hat? Do I choose? Do I have to choose?

Not only does this scenario have me reflecting upon my own teaching, but it really has me analyzing, surmising, scrutinizing the teaching other teachers do. And parents, too.

  • Do I want my daughter to be experiencing such-and-such with Ms. So&So?
  • How will she get along in Mr.A&B's class? What if she doesn't?
  • What if a teacher... my co-worker/colleague... treats her unfairly?
These are the questions I have with her preparing to start her school journey, and I know all the stakeholders involved. I know the processes. I know the school, the parents, the students, their backgrounds... every single one of them!

I can only imagine what it must be like for mother's to send their children to larger schools where they don't know those people who are going to shape their children's futures. Wow. I'd be a wreck!
(And as it is, I'm already hyper analyzing all aspects of my teaching, decorum, etc!)

And, so... I guess, another chapter begins... whether I like it or not.
I'm sure you can imagine there will be more posts about this in the fall!

2 comments:

  1. Wow. A teacher, 2 kids AND a Masters? You are amazing!

    I am also a teacher, but I have never had a teaching position - only substitute teaching. If everything works out, I will be teaching half time in September. I am nervous about how I am going to handle the stress of first year teaching, with two small kids!! Any advice you have about that would be greatly appreciated!

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  2. No, dear! Far from amazing!
    I started the Masters before I got pregnant with child #2... finishing it was part post partum psychosis, I'm sure ;)

    My biggest bits of advice:
    1) a great babysitter
    2) good routines for bed/morning
    3) prepare as much for tomorrow as you can tonight (bfst, lunches, bags packed & at door or in truck, etc)
    4) drink lots of coffee/diet coke
    5) don't expect a clean house to come home to every day ;)

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Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my post! ~Dawn