Another August | Kelly Keene

by Kelly Keene

When I was a first-year teacher, the excitement of starting my first school year with my own classroom came with a side of stress and anxiety. The amount of work it takes to set up a new classroom from scratch, in a very limited timeframe, pressures most new educators to get their classroom keys early, and start work well before the first week really starts. I remember it like it was yesterday. I borrowed some money from my brother to buy my own school supplies (new teachers don’t typically receive their first paycheck until September or October), and went in early to get my classroom key. Well, “keys” as it turned out, because I did not have my own classroom my first year on the job. I had to travel between three different classrooms sharing space with other teachers I hadn’t yet met. It was awkward negotiating for space. Each room needed a place for me to store some minimal, basic supplies, and then I had to bargain with one teacher to let me have a desk in her classroom where I could sit quietly, grade and lesson plan. Every classroom had a different seating chart arranged by other teachers and their needs. It was awkward, and I ultimately missed out on valuable prep time, and time with students running from each room to the next throughout each school day.

But I was new. I was so grateful to even have a job, and ignorant of what I should expect, that I didn’t even know what was typically provided by the school, and what I had to find for myself. One custodian, after watching me struggle to use a student chair and desk as my own brought me an adult-sized office chair from storage. He was shocked when I tried to pay him for the chair. “All teachers get a chair,” he explained, and I almost cried from gratitude. That and the small plastic desk organizer he brought me a week later were all the school actually provided me. I had to figure out the rest.

Craigslist, and eventually Facebook Marketplace, became my search haven for classroom furniture like bookshelves, stools, and couches. When I did get my own classroom, I made my own posters, stealing famous quotes from my favorite authors and laminating them onto construction paper. It was a lot of work, but I loved taking the time to think through all classroom routines and systems. How could I design a space that would make learning interactive, comfortable, and fun? How would students turn work in? How would I pass out papers quickly? Where would I store books and pencils, markers and glue sticks?

When I was brand new to the job, I thought it all had to be carefully thought out before a single student arrived. Something as simple as using the restroom needed a pass, a sign-out sheet and a system that prevented students from missing too much class time but still gave them the freedom to attend to their bodily functions. That led me down a new train of thought: What would I do when a student broke the rules? What rules would we have in this new space? What school rules did I need a plan for and what norms of my own did I want to establish?

It felt like there was unlimited work to be done, but at some point, I had to just be ready for the school year to start, and accept that if it wasn’t all squared away the first week of school, I’d have plenty of time to tweak things and make adjustments as the year went on. Despite all the prep work, that first day went by in a blur. The first week raced by even faster. Once the students got there, the focus shifted away from the classroom, the furniture, and the supplies and toward what teaching is really about: the students. I’m thankful for that work I did put in though, because every start to a new year after that got easier and easier.

By the time I was a fifth-year teacher, my friends and I who had all started the same year celebrated. There’s a statistic that many people who try teaching give up by their fifth year. If you make it, chances are you’re in it for the long haul. At year five, all teacher induction programs are likely behind new educators. We’ve seen an odd school year or two, but we’ve also started getting the hang of the ebb and flow of Fall, Winter, and Spring. Instead of designing lessons from scratch, I was adjusting lessons I’d tried before. I supplemented my materials, but didn’t have to buy big batches of new supplies.

It was less stressful to show back up in August. Instead of learning a new gradebook system, or online classroom resources, many of the tools were familiar. So were the people. I knew the head custodian’s name and his schedule. I understood the temperament of the front office staff. I also knew, generally at least, what to expect when a new batch of bright youngsters walked back into school on that first day.

Once I had just one classroom to myself, I could design the layout of the desks and really hone in my own routine. I wanted to have a flow to the space that made it student-friendly and usable above all else. I also had the...