It’s WELCOME BACK TEACHERS DAY! For the next two days we get to be immersed in three hour PD sessions morning and afternoon. I was also starkly reminded of the fact that I chose a profession that values, favors and upholds extroversion as ideal.
This morning’s activities consisted of the following:
An all staff competition of rock, paper, scissors, where the winner had to be followed around and cheered on by all the foes they had overcome. I lost on purpose (people love rocks) because I didn’t want to be followed around.
A request that we not only stand in the hallways at passing period, but come up with a greeting for all kids that is uniquely “us” and a competition for the teacher who gets to know the largest number of random students in the hallway that is not their own. I can tell you right now, as a student…I probably wouldn’t be able to survive the school day.
This afternoon I attended a well done session that was intended as an overview to trauma and how it affects students and classroom interactions. We were asked to “discuss with our neighbors” frequently as there were 400 of us in the room from across the whole K-12 district.
We need to remember that nearly HALF of the population is introverted. This means nearly half of our students are, and that many of our colleagues are as well. For those of us who are introverts, school is exhausting on an emotional level that has nothing to do with having a good day. We need to keep this in mind as we plan our beginning of the year activities, and activities throughout the year. Providing both the opportunities to be loud, boisterous and extroverted, but also the time to quietly reflect and engage in deeper, meaningful conversations.
Initially, I pose as an extrovert on the first day of school. After brief introductions it’s a day of physics demos. Students form their own groups and move flexibly from station to station. I do this because I want students to get their hands dirty without having to worry about the social aspect of school on the first day.
I, on the other hand, do a LOT of observation that day. I observe student interactions, I observe who the “outliers” are, who is quiet, who is a leader, etc. I use the combination of their assignment for that activity and their student information surveys to get a bigger picture of who they are socially and academically, and then we begin.
Have a great school year everyone!
I’m going to go take a quiet walk outside now.
Physics.Teacher.Momma. 