My First Day Teaching in South Carolina

After 40 hours of driving, some heavy house searching, and a crash course in middle school teaching, I finally started my new job today. For the first quarter of the year, I’m assigned to teach game design to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Obviously, one day on the job doesn’t tell me a whole lot about what the job will actually be like, but here’s what I’ve experienced so far.

First off, I don’t know what your experience was when you were in school, but first days are never the most fun. They’re exciting, yes. But let’s be honest. The main goal of the first day is typically to introduce rules, procedures, and class curriculum. To be honest, I did enjoy it for the first half of the day, but, much like the students, I got tired of it by the end of the day.

Not tired of teaching, but tired of not getting to teach. From the teacher perspective, the first day of school reminds me of Santa’s elves at Christmas. We spend weeks prepping and doing everything possible to make the year great for us, and for our students. When the day finally comes, there’s an energy in the air, and I often spotted teachers wearing wide smiles.

What I’m trying to say is that the first day of school (especially as a teacher) is unique mixed bag of emotions. It’s exciting, but exhausting. In fact, let’s stick with the Christmas analogy. Imagine you’ve been waiting weeks for Christmas to finally arrive, then you’re allowed to open one gift a week early. That’s what the first day of school feels like.

Now, it wouldn’t be right to end this post without mentioning what I noticed specifically about teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. In a nutshell, it’s a huge spread when it comes to human development. In other words, there’s a lot of growth during those three years. For those that didn’t know, I originally set out to teach high school, not middle school. After one day, I already feel like I’m going to be okay with that twist.

Before today, I was most nervous about the 6th graders. They seemed quiet a lot younger than I was expecting to teach. Still, after a few classes packed with them, I’ve actually thoroughly enjoyed it. In this area, it’s the first grade that moves beyond elementary school. That means they’re nervous, excited, and eager. Let me tell you, all of those feelings shine through.

I don’t know how I’ll feel in a week, month, or year from now, but I feel good about this job. Even though at least three random strangers I’ve met warned me that those kids would “eat me alive if I wasn’t careful.” Maybe they eventually will, but as of right now, I feel like this will be a good year.