Teaching First Grade

So, I finished off my conquest of teaching fifth grade (it was a piece of cake . . . LOL . . . hardly) I took the week to teach first grade. Now before I get into how I changed the lives of all the first graders by my outstanding teaching (again, laughing here), I should brief the reader on my experience, most of which is found at the upper elementary and middle school levels. I have never taught anything below third grade.

I'll admit, I was scared something fierce. And my first day was a wreck. Thank goodness I didn't have any walk-throughs that day. I was out the gate way TOO fast and the poor kids...they were lost. The following day, I found the needed pace and it was much more productive day.

The rest of the week though was tough. Because of various meetings and other situations, I couldn't make it back to the beloved first graders. But having been there just for a couple of days makes me appreciate so much what the primary teachers do on a daily basis. And though different than my fifth grade experience, it's equally as hard.

Teaching lessons have been a wonderful reminder of a couple key points: a) as principals, we need to get in the classrooms more and remember what it's like to do the daily work that our intrepid teachers do.  b) I still love the classroom. Though leadership at the building level is gratifying, the classroom is still where the magic is. :)

God bless you, educators!