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First Day of Class
By John W. Kennedy | August 26, 2008
Yesterday marked the first day of school for many children around the nation. It also became the first day of the teaching career of my oldest son, Josh, as well as his wife, Bethany. After working their way through college, graduating magna cum laude and student teaching for a semester, Josh and Bethany now are full-fledged elementary instructors.
Skeptics who think teachers have it easy because they have summer off haven’t met Josh and Bethany. They spent the summer buying books at sales, planning lessons and going to numerous meetings with other teachers. For the past month, they’ve been busy preparing their classrooms for pupils, sometimes putting in 16-hour days.
My wife, Patty, and I helped Josh in his final push for preparation over the weekend, copying lessons, laminating materials to hang on walls and designing the classroom calendar.
Fortunately both Josh and Bethany have supportive co-workers and administrators in helping them get started. They are eager not only to have a good-paying steady job but also to get students on the right track for reaching their own life goals.
Josh reported that he had a blast the first day and that his fifth-grade class is well behaved, at least so far. One student even told him he’s already the best teacher he’s ever had. Here’s hoping most of his days are like this.
As I had to do, Josh will learn from on-the-job experience. I learned all about reporting in journalism school, but actually covering my first city council meeting or arson fire proved to be much different than sitting in the classroom.
For a good overview of the challenges that teachers face in dealing with individual personalities, be sure to check out next Sunday’s Today’s Pentecostal Evangel cover story, “The anatomy of a classroom kingdom.”
Topics: education |
August 26th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I love the HABIT bulletin board! My wife and I are teachers, as is our oldest daughter, Bethany, who is starting her first full year of teaching. She taught half a year last year. One of us may have to “steal” that bulletin board idea!
Best wishes to Josh and Bethany.