Back to School Jitters

It's back to school time.

One of my college sorority sisters in Kentucky (hi Steph!) sent her little peanut off to her first day of Kindergarten earlier this week.  Another sorority sister in Florida (Hi Trisha!) sent her baby girl to Kindergarten, too.  And my best friend's oldest sister (Hi Jessica!) in Nebraska sent her two oldest boys to school just yesterday.

Yes, Facebook has confirmed what Target has been telling me for weeks: it is officially back to school time, no matter what part of the nation you live in!!! But I didn't need Facebook or Target to tell me that because I'm a teacher, and we've had that "back to school" feeling since July.

For everyone else, the Back to School Jitters settle in somewhere around mid-August when it's absolutely do or die time for school supply shopping (we were out yesterday and let me just say good luck finding a 3-subject notebook on the shelves!) and the excitement of class lists starts bustling through the neighborhood (our class lists go up today!).  Parents and students alike start feeling that nervous feeling about a new school year because, let's face it, new school years mean LOTS of new questions and procedures.  The kids start to wonder if their new teachers will like them, while the parents start wondering if the new teachers are going to give out as much homework as the old teachers.  The kids wonder what new books they'll read and how much cursive they'll have to write, how much computer time they'll get and what day library check out will be.  Parents begin fretting over the costs of school registration and setting up parent-teacher conferences and what if the new teachers don't call home as much - or worse, what if they call home TOO MUCH???  And what if the new teacher doesn't let kids have water bottles in class or doesn't take bathroom breaks or what if MY BEST FRIEND ISN'T IN MY CLASS THIS YEAR???!!!!!

Yes, there are plenty of things to panic about.

And now, I'm going to let everyone in on a huge secret, one that will probably break the sacred code of teachers.....

Teachers worry about all those things, too.

Seriously, I just got the LAST class of kids conditioned!  They laughed at all my jokes, knew when they should sit down and be quiet, had finally stopped asking what time lunch was, and recognized both the joke and the truth in our class motto: It's all about Mrs. Yeagle.  They "got" me.

What if the new class doesn't like me? What if they don't think I'm funny?  What if they can't read my cursive?  What if the new parents want me to call home more often - or worse, what if they want me to call home LESS???  What day will library check out be and what if I forget to have the kids change into their PE shoes and what if I run out of slots for parent-teacher conferences and what if MY BEST FRIEND DOESN'T HAVE LUNCH WITH ME THIS YEAR????!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, friends, teachers also get the Back To School Jitters.  Big time.

As for the student-parent jitters, it's OK.  I have read some recent posts about how difficult it is for parents to hand their kids over to someone else for 8 hours a day - especially those first timers, sending their first babies off to the big, wild world of Kindergarten.  I feel for you - I'm sending my shy, gentle-natured Charlie off to Kindergarten this year, and I'm worried.  He gets scared in new situations and doesn't always make friends easily.  He doesn't like loud noises (even though he is the loudest one in the house!) and he can take 90 minutes to eat one piece of toast and a yogurt tube, so this 15 minute lunch thing is not going to work out....

But it'll be alright, because I know the kind of person I'm sending him to and I know she'll take care of him.  It'll break my heart when I have to read the email that he cried for 20 minutes on the letter rug during center time, but even getting that email will mean one very important thing: his teacher noticed he was crying and did something about it because she cares for him, too.

And this is important for us all to remember: your child's teacher may not be you, but your child's teacher cares for him and will always have his best interest in mind.

Teachers aren't perfect, and I guarantee that I'll mess up at least once this school year.....ok, at least 50,000 times.....but we DO care and we DO try our best to help your children succeed.   So let me calm your fears:

I'll be there when your baby comes in after recess crying because the other girls were mean to her, and I'll hug her tight and remind her that she's wonderful inside and out and that she can't let other people make her feel like she's any less than that.  And I'll be there when your buddy fails his math test because he doesn't understand fractions, and I'll remind him that I myself have failed a math test or two and that I turned out OK and I'll walk him next door to set up a one-on-one tutoring time with the math teacher.  And I'll be there to preview your child's library books (too easy....too hard...too mature...hey, did you get this from the junior high side of the library?!...) and to help him pack his bookbag so he's not late for the bus and to celebrate with her after winning first chair in the band challenge.  AND I'll be there to see them holding hands on the playground.....and I'll be the one to remind them that holding hands is PDA, and we don't do that at school.

And tell your kids it'll be OK, too.  Yes, they'll have to write in cursive, but Mrs. Yeagle isn't some sort of handwriting Nazi, so we will make it work.  We'll have some extra computer time, but not much, and library check out will probably be on Friday.  Water bottles are allowed at your lockers only, bathroom breaks happen after PE and lunch, and if your best friend isn't in your class, it will still be OK....I promise.

School is stressful for everyone, but if we all work together we can make it through. Let's make the deal that I won't judge you when your child's assignment book comes back to class unsigned a time or two, and you won't judge me when you see me in the grocery store check-out line with my bottle of wine and bag of Oreos....

The new school year is starting - sooner than I think we'd all like - but hopefully your Back to School Jitters have calmed.

Now, can somebody PLEASE calm mine down??!!!