It's that time of year again; new backpacks and lunch boxes, freshly sharpened pencils, the smell of new books and crisp, new outfits ready for their big debut. With school starting for most in just a week, there are generally two types of students. First, we have the student that already has his backpack ready to go, waiting by the door. They've tried on their outfit three times and are counting down the days. Then, there is the student that is pretending school isn't right around the corner. School supplies either haven't been bought, or they are still in the packaging.
Regardless of what kind of student you are, there is another key person that is preparing for the school year as well. Ever wonder what your teachers are doing before school starts?
1. Working just a few more days at their seasonal job.
Let's be honest: Teacher salaries aren't the greatest. Any extra money we can make during our three-month break from teaching, we will make it. Even if it means working with teenagers and serving tourists. We've had enough of it at this point, but now that school is about to start we're trying to bring in that cash while we can.
2. Stocking up on school supplies.
Teachers religiously buy newspapers and go through pages and pages of ads and coupons just to get the best deal on glue sticks, folders, scissors, paper, and dry erase markers. Most kids come with this stuff on the first day, but have you ever seen a first grader use a glue stick? If not, here's a brief overview—they need a new one by the time they finally finish gluing that one strip of paper. They are expensive, but honestly, we're obsessed.
3. Moving back in.
Imagine having to move out of your house every June, then moving back in three months later. We all remember the end of the year in elementary and middle school. Classroom walls became more bare and boxes lined the walls as we prepared for the summer. But did you ever see the boxes when you came back on the first day of school? Nope, because your teacher came in the week before school started and spent hours putting the classroom back together.
4. Going to training and meetings.
Summer for a teacher is more than sleeping in and working a seasonal job. As we prepare for the upcoming year, there is training for curriculum changes, new software updates and technology advances we have to get used to, and the list goes on and on. That's not all, though; we spend the entire week before school starts in 8 a.m. meetings watching the principal click through endless PowerPoint slides to compare last year's test scores, attendance, and referrals to previous years and determining ways to improve. Did I mention these meetings last an average of three hours?
5. Getting excited.
Being a teacher isn't easy, but having awesome students makes us forget about the difficulties. Truth is, even though the meetings are long and boring, we've looked over our class list 20 times and practiced saying all of our students' names. Even though training takes up time from our summer, we've spent even more time in our classroom making it the perfect learning environment. We're counting down the days, and back to school is our favorite time of year; because nothing makes us happier than getting to change lives.
