As we embark on another school year, many of us enter the classroom or office with mixed emotions. Some of us are excited to start fresh with a new group of eager learners, some of us are mourning the end of summer freedom, and some of us are anxiously anticipating what new initiatives or demands will be waiting for us when we enter our first professional development sessions.
But all of us, whether we are excited, anxious, or otherwise, have one thing in common: We get a fresh start. Not many people in other professions can say the same.
You may understand the sentiment and confusion that I have when speaking to friends or family members who are not in education. When my husband talks about his job as a hospital administrator, I sometimes find myself unable to get past the fact that his work just continues on and on, day to day, year to year.
No matter how we feel coming into this school year, we can, with a high degree of certainty, know what September looks like: the professional development sessions, the back-to-school nights, the fresh faces and haircuts and backpacks, and the palpable anticipation of what this year will bring.
The cyclical nature of our profession brings not only predictability but also something else most people don’t get in their jobs every year: a chance to start over. Each year, we get to choose the kind of teacher or administrator we want to be. We get to choose new priorities and goals. We get to leave the past behind.
In this biweekly column, principals and other authorities on school leadership—including researchers, education professors, district administrators, and assistant principals—offer timely and timeless advice for their peers.
In some ways, education is a predictable profession. We know when we are teaching math, what time the bell rings for lunch, and dates for state testing three years in advance. We know when our students will arrive and what time the buses come for dismissal.
In other ways, it is as unpredictable as emergency medicine. That’s what makes it exciting.
We don’t know which student will ask a question that will challenge our thinking and throw off our lesson plan. We don’t know what time the fire alarm will go off or when a student in the back will throw up all over a standardized test or which student will lose a parent and need all the love and support we have to offer. We have to be ready to be all the things to any student at any given time.
For administrators, specifically, the beginning of a new cycle offers the opportunity to reset priorities, reestablish routines, and reevaluate processes. We get to be creative in how we can make our schools run smoother and more cohesively in the upcoming year. Every summer offers us the chance to step back, without the daily firefighting, and reflect on how we can prioritize student learning and get the best out of our teachers. It offers the opportunity to set the course of that fresh start.
Now, as another cycle begins, I hope we can all take a moment to reflect on the tremendous power that we hold as educators. Regardless of what new initiatives our district is “rolling out,” what buzzwords fill our PD sessions, or what newly designed spaces we come back to in our buildings, our first priority is the business of teaching students. And each individual student that enters our building has a history and a learning profile. They each have interests, strengths, weaknesses, and struggles. Most importantly, they each have a desire to belong and connect.
The most daunting and awesome of all the responsibilities of our profession is to create an environment conducive to learning. We set the tone. We set the expectations. We determine the mood and feeling of our building or classroom.
Our expression, our demeanor, our attitude are all as contagious as a cold. Our words hold tremendous power. The impact we will make on each individual we encounter is profound, whether we know it or not. And the amazing thing—the amazing power we hold—is that the impact can be positive or negative, depending on our attitude and our choices.
I have been in this profession for 23 years and I still get the “first day jitters” (which also happens to be the title of a book I used to read to my 2nd graders every year on the first day of school). The day I stop getting excited for a new school year is the day I will know my time in education has run its course. Because all students and teachers deserve that fresh start and all the nervous excitement that comes with September.
From my office to yours, Happy New Year! Make it a good one; you have the power.
