I was walking in Walmart the other evening and I overheard a little girl, about 8 years old, yelling at her mother “NO I DON’T WANT TO GO TO THE BACK TO SCHOOL STUFF!!!!!” My first thought was “I’m sure that more teachers out there can “feel” her pain. I even thought, wow before I became an assistant principal, I would sometimes say the same thing. I say sometimes, because there were summers when I couldn’t wait to get back to school. I started to think to myself why did I feel one way or the other. I really believe that part of it had to do with my coaching, and how I couldn’t wait to get back into the gym with my teams. Around the same time I was working with a great team in my dept., and we got along like a family. Other times, when I was feeling “how depressing, back to school crap already” had to do with I really didn’t feel a sense of family in my school. Not that I’m a school administrator I can’t wait for school to open in the fall because the building is just to damn quiet! I really miss the students and the activity and noise that they bring to the building.
So I go back to the little girl and the fact that many teacher feel her pain. I have to ask myself, “if you’re a teacher and you feel this way – Do you really love your job? Do you really like to work with kids?” Granted it is nice to have time off, but by the time Christmas break is over, I’m ready to get back into the swing of things. Could teachers feel that way because they don’t feel appreciated in their building? I really wonder if the good to great idea works here, you know Jim Collins book. If you have all of the right people in the school, are teachers more eager to get back after summer break? Do coaches get anxious more frequently than their non coaching counter parts? Does the school leadership team play a roll in this?
On the totally flip side, I totally understand why the little girl or any other student that age would yell that. What could be more fun than sleeping in and playing with your friends all day? Maybe if school and more specifically their classes were more engaging the students wouldn’t feel this way.
Could we really live in a word where the teachers and the students are all excited to go back to school? I also wonder if it’s the same thing in schools in other countries around the world???
I have often wondered why is it that children in kindergarten and first grade love school but by the time they get to grade 2 they are no longer excited about school? This made me ponder your thoughts about the child and the school supplies.
My two children were always excited about school. They would come to school with me in the summer and help clean and set up the teachers’ classrooms. You would think that they would have hated those tasks but the feeling of belonging and the feeling of the school as part of “them” added to their interest and ownership of the building. They knew everyone and felt comfortable in that surrounding. My children also experienced success within the school setting. I wonder more often if that feeling of success is the reason you either “like” or “dislike” school. In kindergarten and first grade, we work very hard as teachers and administrators to build that classroom environment and the sense of “school ownership” for all students. We strive to build students’ self esteem and work to have students engage in activities that promote friendships, teams, as well as independence. I feel that promoting and encouraging students in all learning environments is a vital component of school success and involvement.
For teachers and staff, I have always felt very strongly that if you do not like your job and if it seems more of a task to come to work, than you should try and find another line of employment. I know that is easy to say but I will never forget a comment a colleague of mine stated on the very first day I arrived to school as a new teacher. I entered with a big smile and so excited that “today was my first day as a teacher” only to have him state, “good grief- no one should be that happy about school. Just wait you will hate it too!” I never forgot his comment. He later moved to another career in which he has done very well. And thank goodness he is no longer in education! I do agree that we need to work on our team within our school building and strive to develop a fun and exciting environment. Teaming is very complicated and it takes time to build. But our efforts will be greatly rewarded- the children come first and we should not forget that!