First Days Perspective

I was meditating today about the stress that occurs at the beginning of a school term. When I was a student, the first day of class was often stressful: I would wonder things like, "Will I like this teacher? Will the teacher like me? Will the class be fun and interesting? Will the teacher be fair? Will I learn something or will I be bored?" Now as a teacher, I know that many of my students have these same unspoken questions on their first day in my class. I try to answer these questions by my manner, my attitude, and through my policies.

But today I was thinking about my own unspoken questions as a teacher: "Will my students like me? Will they listen to what I have to share with them? Will they judge me by my appearance or by my age? Will I be able to motivate them to do their best work? Will they learn something?" I doubt that my students realize that I have these questions. But I do.

Teaching really depends on the relationship I create with my students. I have already determined to love them, no matter what they look like or in what ways they may differ from me. I cannot teach them until I do love them, and love is an act of the will. It is a choice I make every time I agree to teach a class.