Second-year teacher looks ahead to new school year

Lauren McCabe, a teacher at the Environmental Charter High in Lawndale, writes:

After an incredible summer of travel, time with family, and lots of sleeping in, I am once again staring at a school calendar, and my sleep is interrupted at night with nightmares of being late to work and of unruly students.  Oddly enough this anxiety feels welcome as I look ahead to what I’m sure will be an even better school year.

As a second-year teacher I feel much more confident planning for those first few weeks of school and implementing my classroom management policies.  I’m no veteran teacher by any means, and I know that this year will still be a challenge as I focus on improving my practice, but there is something wonderful about walking onto Environmental Charter High School’s campus and seeing the familiar faces of my coworkers that makes me feel like I truly am part of something special.

As a 12th-grade teacher, my students moved on last year, and while other teachers have their previous students in their classrooms helping them put up posters and move chairs, I can only look forward to making new connections with the class of 2009. I miss the personality of the class that walked out of my doors last spring, and I wonder if I did my part in preparing them for college.  I’m acknowledging the mistakes I made with my previous students and working to improve my teaching so that those same mistakes are not made twice.  I’m holding myself more accountable for tracking standard mastery as well as communicating more with parents.  Instead of having an “I’m just staying above water” mentality, I want to be more effective and enjoy the day-to-day workings of being a teacher.  This means creating a more balanced work and social life and giving my students more responsibility in the classroom. 

So here’s to another year and to our students!  Good luck everyone. 

Photos of students at the school working outdoors courtesy Environmental Charter High

Comments

[james s]

Nice update.

Is Lance still teaching? The incident he described of a student of his getting jumped and beaten was pretty horrific.