Four Things I Learned on the First Day of School

While the first day of school is a scary day for everyone, it was especially nervewracking for me since I have no previous teaching experience! It's a lot different going into a job with absolutely no prior experience of any kind, without any kind of interview, and without meeting any of the people you will be working with. I really had no idea what to expect on my first day of teaching. All the memories I have of elementary school are from when I was in elementary school! 

However, my first day of school went better than I could have ever imagined. It was so fun to meet all the students, get to know the other teachers, and see the place I will be working for the next year. I already can tell that teaching will be a great experience for me, and that I'm going to grow a lot in this next year. While I did a lot of teaching on the first day of school, I also did a lot of learning as well! 

Here's four important lessons I learned on my first of school as the teacher!

1. Don't be nervous! The kids will love you right away.

I was nervous the students would not like me, think I was a weird American, or not be that interested in me since they have teaching assistants all the time, but boy was I wrong! When I walked into a new classroom all the children's faces lit up, and they all started yelling hello or their names to me. I had a few classes where kids were practically falling out of their seats just to tell me that there favorite color was blue, or that they liked dogs. The real thing that proved to me that these kids liked me was when a little second grade boy gave me a drawing he made (pictured in the gallery) and said, "It's a picture of you jumping and being happy because we are happy to have you here with us!" It was so sweet and almost made me cry on the first day of school. It made me less nervous once I knew the children were excited to have me in classroom, and made me feel more comfortable in my new job. (Also, I now have a new beautiful piece of art in my little apartment!)

2. Asking the simple question, "What would you like me to do for you today?" can go a lot farther than you think.

I asked this question to my first teacher when I arrived in the classroom, thinking she would simply tell me a few tasks I should do for the day. However, she just paused and looked at me in disbelief. At first I thought I had said something wrong, but then she smiled and said, "Never in my years of teaching has any assistant asked me this question on the first day. You are doing a great job!" After that, I asked this question to all of my teachers, and they seemed very pleased to see I was so willing to help them. I learned that asking this basic question and showing initiative to the teachers is a great way to establish yourself in your new school. It shows that you are a hard worker, who is here to help the teacher and who takes their job seriously.

3. Words of affirmation can make a big difference to a young learner.

I had forgotton how much just a few words of encouragement can impact a child. At first, when I was calling on children to answer questions, I would casually say, "great job," or "yes, that's right," when they said the correct answer. But then I began to notice how excited they were when I complimented their work. After I would tell them, "great job," they would give me the biggest smile and seem so proud of themselves. Then, I started to get more excited about their correct answers and would say things like, "Yes! That's perfect!," or "That's almost right, but are doing really well!," which made them even more excited to participate in the and practice their English. When I complimented them or provided positive them with feedback, more and more hands shot up with answers. I learned that words of encouragement can go a long way when someone is learning, especially with a new language. Although I'm not their full-time teacher, my praise and feedback meant a lot to them, and I'm looking forward to encouraging them in their English all year long.

4. And... always push the stop button on the bus!

My school is in Collado Villalba, a small town in the mountains 30 minutes north of Madrid. Once you drive through the town's center, it is pretty much just farmland and cows out there. While I left with plenty of time, I made the mistake of thinking my bus would open the doors and let people out at every bus stop, but I found out the hard way that's not the case! Since I did not push the stop button, the bus cruised by my school, and eventually stopped two miles away, on the side of a local freeway, in the middle of the farmland. Not an ideal situation on the first day of a new job! Luckily, I was able to cross the freeway and take the bus going back the opposite direction, and fimly pushed the stop button. While I still made it to school on time, I know that's one lesson I will never forget!