Beer Bottle Caps and Half Eaten Poptarts
You may or may not know that I teach kindergarten at a Title 1 school. This means I teach at a school where a very high percentage of students receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch based on their parents income. I’ve taught in a Title 1 school for most of my teaching career and I love it. Every year at about this time I start preparing myself for the beginning of the school year. I should be getting ready for Meet The Teacher Night, I should be getting ready for the first day of school, I should be gathering all the things I worked on over summer so I can take them up to school and so much more. This year though is very different. I know my routines for opening in person but we aren’t starting school in person. Luckily I have been preparing to start the school year online knowing that may happen and it is. Nothing about this is ideal. Nothing about this is normal. It’s not how any teacher has ever envisioned the start to a school year. With that being said, nor is it ever how a parent/caregiver ever envisioned the beginning of a school year for their child.
Meet the Teacher night is a special night for families and teachers. For the families that attend it is both the teachers and the families opportunity to make a good first impression. Sadly, it is the one and only time the teacher may see these parents the whole school year. There is an anticipation and an excitement for the teacher as she/he wait to meet each family and when you see that little bundle of cuteness approach the classroom with their caregiver the teachers heart melts. Yes, I will be honest and say that sometimes when you see that little bundle of cuteness approach the classroom you think about how the year might be a wild ride. But none the less all those bundles of cuteness come to your room full of hope and wonderment. The families are eager to meet you, to see where their child will live for 7 hours each day and those little bundles of cuteness excitedly put away their supplies. I will miss that this year and I will miss coming home and telling Kevan all about the families that I met.
The first day of school is every emotion lumped together in a ball of knots that sits at the pit of your stomach. Seriously, all the feels! It’s this way for teachers, parents and those bundles of cuteness. That morning you spend just a little extra time getting yourself all polished and looking sharp. At the same time parents are getting their prized possessions, those bundles of cuteness all decked out in their new back to school clothes. For many it is the first time in a long while since they have had new clothes and they probably won’t get new clothes again till Christmas. In just a few short hours you are standing at the doorway to your classroom. You have done all that needs to be done in order to be ready and you are just trying not to vomit because of that knotted ball of emotions that is still sitting in the pit of your stomach. Here they come. Some walking in front of their parents as if they have done this a million times. Some holding their parents hand and say goodbye once in the classroom. Some come in clinging to their parent as if this is the scariest place they have ever seen. Then there are the few that you recognized from Meet the Teacher who are going to take you on that wild ride and they are just bouncing all over the room. I’m really going to miss that first day of school this year.
Traditions! Oh how sad and broken my heart is at the thought that I will not get to do the things that have become a tradition for me at the beginning of the school year. The first day of school picture, the first day of school certificate and gift, the books that I read specifically written about going to kindergarten. Sure I can do most of these things when we do get to be at school and in person but it just won’t be the same. I still remember Patrick from about four years ago walking in the second day of school and announcing to the world “I’m back!” and I said “yes you are and in all your glory!” Gosh, that first week is critical for setting up routines and procedures. It really sets the climate for the year. I’m really going to miss the traditions this year.
These little bundles of cuteness like to bring you gifts. They aren’t just any gift. No sir, they are treasures, prized possessions and their value can’t be calculated. These gifts don’t come wrapped in pretty paper with a bow on top. They don’t come in a cute bag with pretty tissue paper sticking out the top. These gifts are treasures that may be found on the ground such as the beer bottle cap I received. The little girl handed it to me and said ” isn’t it beautiful with that pretty green star on it. I knew you were going to want it and so I picked it up off the ground as I walked in to school.” These gifts are homemade like the jumbo stack of foam plates that were in a plastic shopping bag. The student was so proud that she had practiced her letters, numbers and shapes. She said to me as she handed me the bag ” I made these all just for you.” You also have students who just want to share something so wonderful to them so that you can also know how wonderful it is. I’m thinking about the student who gave me a half eaten pop tart. Remember that there is a good chance this student is on the free or reduced breakfast and lunch and that pop tart may be all they have had that morning. Now picture this bundle of cuteness meeting me at the door to the classroom and saying “Mrs. Cayce , I saved half of my pop tart for you. It is so yummy. You are going to love it.” Well thank you wasn’t enough and so this student said ” what are you waiting for, don’t you want to try it and see how yummy it is?” I told this student that I really wanted to try it (not) but that it wouldn’t be fair to try it in front of the other students because they might want to try it. Whew, got through that one and later the pop tart went in the trash. I will look forward to getting these priceless gifts when we are back in the classroom.
Just as this is not how any teacher would want to start the school year, it’s not how any parent would want to start the school year for their child. I truly sympathize with these families. They need to work, they don’t have someone to watch their children. I sincerely wish it could be different right now but its not. I realize that there are concerns about the physical and mental health of the children. I realize there are academic concerns with children not being in the classroom. I get it. Teachers have these same concerns. We are not only concerned about these things for the students but we are also concerned about our physical and mental health. We are concerned about the loss of academic instruction. However, here is the cold hard truth, teachers can catch students up academically as long as they are healthy when schools open up. We can’t catch them up if they are quarantined at home, in the hospital or worse. I’m going to end by speaking something from the heart, and that is, as difficult as it may be and as unhappy as someone might be about the current situation, it is nothing compared to how difficult it will be and how devastating it will be if something was to happen to your child and they were no longer here.
This school year we, teachers and families are going to need to have more understanding for each other. We are going to need to be more flexible and accepting of decisions that will be made. We are going to need to support each other like we never have before. This is all new for all of us and we all have to do the best we can!
