Before School Even Begins

It's August, several weeks before school even begins. For new teachers, this is crunch time--as in, "What is going to happen to me as a teacher? Will the kids like me? Will I have problems with the curriculum? Lesson plans? Grading? The parents????" The sense that something large and not fully under control is about to happen is palpable, maybe even suffocating.

And what makes it worse is that it seems like there is not a whole lot that can be done except to hurry up and wait.

Yet, in retrospect, there are things to do that actually will help ease the transition to being a classroom teacher. I'll roll those out down below.

But before I do, let me just share that August is the month of dreams, at least it is for me. I tend to sleep in past 8:00 and those last morning dreams tend to put me in the classroom where I am variously late trying to get to school, or engaged in some sweet back and forth with kids, or come to imagining that I am waking up from one of my regular post-school afternoon naps. In other words, the big hurly-burly rush of a full school year is barreling toward me and my unconscious mind is busy creating psychic space to accomodate it.

Wierd. But also, somehow, it feels comforting and familiar. I've been here before and always made it work. The job is a huge part of my life and who I am. That's the benefit of having experience, something every new teacher should look forward to and believe in. There are huge upsides to getting through the early years of teaching. And doing so in a way that keeps you whole, balanced and hungry for more. Besides, in visualizing the future, I really do believe that we help to create it.

So the time to start putting out those positive brain waves and psychic feelers has arrived.

1. How well do you know your school community?

NTN recommends getting out to the site of the school a couple times before school begins. What kind of a community is it? Where do kids seem to hang out? What are the area highlights? Parks? Shopping malls?

The intention here is to get a few local names down in your mind, just in case you need that local example to drive home a key point. Also, what kind of neighborhoods feed your school building? Are these upper, middle, lower class homes? Are there any demographics available? How do the houses look? Are there places to walk and bike and gather?

Or, is the community without sidewalks? Packed together on close streets? Yes, you will be hearing a lot about the neighborhoods that feed your school, and a lot of veteran teachers will be sources of that information.But, it is important that a new teacher get their own first look at the scene.

Sometimes relying on the judgmments of others creates a kind of frozen mind-set about how things are, and how they are always going to be. The truth is: we can change how we see, think and feel about our environment if we are open, creative and alert to how our perceptions are being coded and filed in our brain. It's not about judgment as much as it is about clarity and truth. Your school community is what it is: there will be wonderful things, mediocre or average things, there will be challenges.

Every community is the same in this respect--and yet, every one comes with its own particular combination of good, middling and tough realities. The most important thing is to keep an open mind about these, to gauge, learn and understand on your own what is happening. Your perceptions can be very valuable, not only to you personally, but to your colleagues as you look to creatively respond to the challenges you face.

2. How well do you know your building and staff?

Yes, there will be time enough over the coming months to learn, probably more than you care to, about your building and staff. However, you may need and depend upon that information at the very beginning. Where are the staff bathrooms? Where are the kid's bathrooms? The gym? The counselor? The social worker? The fact is that once the building has its many teachers on-site, your ability to meet and greet other staff--in a leisurely and disarming way--diminshes.

You will will be startled by how quickly the momentum picks up that last week before the kids arrive. So, take advantage, even if just for a morning and get out to your building and try to correlate names and faces. Locations. The more familiar you are with people and places in your building--you will be so much better off.

In fact, if you can get a staff directory, particularly one with photos, that would be an excellent first thing to spend some time on. My experience was that the first year, I only got to know about 25% of the staff--to where I could identify them by name. The problem is, given your respective schedules, you only see some people once a week, or once a month, and so, with the avalanche of activity surrounding the new teacher, that's a tough thing to master. And yet, it's incredibly handy and important. Particularly the key people: secretaries, social workers, the nurse, hall monitors, detention coordinators--the people upon whom you will need to call in order to resolve a situation.

Get to know them, their names and what they do in your building. Take notes if you have to--but that knowledge is literally the lifeline you need to do your job well. It takes a village to educate a child and your fellow villagers are working on the very same project you are.

3. Are kids already at the school practicing, rehearsing, working?

You will probably find, depending what level you are teaching, that students are already in the building. Many fall sports begin in early August, not to mention the band, or other organizations, student council, class officers, etc.

A new teacher definitely needs to know the names of the coaches. NTN recommends making that list of sports, coaches and advisors. Who is already active around the building? What are the big sports and activities already under way? Check them out, if only briefly.

It really makes a difference to understand your students to know what they are experiencing around the building, outside of your class. And remember: for the kids, these activities are sometimes, often, most likely, their strongest tie-in to school. These co-curriculars represent what they feel passionate about, what they crave and connect to, the touch-point for making friends. It's good to get a sense of that going in to the first week because it helps you keep in perspective that your class is only one part of a much larger puzzle. For you, it's a key part--as it should be.

But, for the student, it is just one aspect, and likely not their most cherished, of what happens at school.

4. Is your content and curriculum under control?

Answer: no. And it won't be for many years.

New teachers struggle to fully understand, integrate and master the curriculum. That's reality. You will likely be highly dependent upon your colleagues for materials, ideas, units, etc. In a lot of districts, because of state standards and standardized tests, the curriculum is pretty much mandated and nailed to the classroom door.

That's a sad thing, in my estimation, but given that students sometimes switch between class sections in a building every marking period, it is, to some degree, necessary. But, let's face it. There are always opportunities to fill in how the curriculum is delivered, whether that is enrichment, outside materials that connect and weave things together, or just fun activities.

In my experience, the best approach was to put off mastering the curriculum until right before I had to teach it. It means, essentially, that I had to spend more time at night and in the morning learning the material, re-reading stories or novels, looking ahead at the chapter just before we opened our books.

Is that ideal? No.

But, you know what, being a new teacher is not ideal. And my brain could only absorb and make regular use of a small percentage of content at any given time. Trying to jam too much of it in does not lead to greater mastery or proficiency--at least it didn't for me. And besides, here's a shocking truth: the most important part of the job is not going to be about the content alone.

Now, don't get me wrong. Yes, as a teacher, you need to inspire your students with your personal mastery and devotion to learning. But, before that, before anything else, what will make you effective is who you are as a human being.

That's something you communicate every day, every hour, every minute. And it is the very thing that most students care most about you. What this means then, is that if you are going to do any "content" preparation in the weeks leading up to school, it should be about the content of your character.

What do you really want your kids to learn from you? What is your intention in becoming a teacher? What is life for? I submit that these are the truly important issues that students will gain from their time in your class.

And I know this because, years later, when you see your students again, the things that they will talk about and value will not be the specific content, but the general content--the content of your character. The fun memories. The way you ran the class. The size of your heart. Build these and the students will come, play and be enriched.

Here are my favorite pre-teaching reads:

• Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen
• Chop Wood, Carry Water by the New Age Journal
• The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer
• A Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck

In other words, the most important preparation for teaching may be to sharpen your mind around the big picture: our lives are more about heart and feeling than intellect and efficiency. Caring, nurturing and love are the strongest elements in any teacher's repertoire. Choosing a unique path in life, one that fits for who you are, is the one essential goal of learning.