Meeting My New Students on Our First Day of School

A little nervous, a little excited. The first day of school has finally come! New school year, new section, new problems... I mean, new hopes! But I'm telling you what made me more uneasy was the fact that I was sharing the classroom with another teacher. Last week, I put a lot of effort into setting it up. Especially since I’m not the first one to use the room. I wonder what our classroom looks like now.

Just so you know, we’re short on classrooms since there are so many students. Maybe not all areas in the Philippines, but in my place, we have shifting classes. This is the solution to the lack of rooms. Anyway, I felt so relieved when I saw the room was still clean.

Come the afternoon shift, I was already waiting at the front door. I always do this to set the impression that the room should be kept clean. Then the students on my class list started coming in.

Watching the new batch is kind of entertaining. Some looked cute, others were awkward. Some girls came in with their faces all glammed up. With their lipstick on. I was no match! Yup, this must be the new normal for today’s kids.

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So after the prayer, as soon as everything was set, I checked the attendance right away. There you go. It’s just the first day, and the "kulit vibes" have already kicked off! Whenever I call out names, there's always someone giggling. Crush talk already? Yep, classic high school behavior.

This kind of fun is what I’ll miss during school breaks. And just from how they’re acting, you know what’s coming. As usual, they might look like a headache. But this is the kind of mess I enjoy too! But there is more. I see hope in their eyes. The kind of look that says they’re just waiting for someone to believe in them. And that's my job.

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Not gonna lie, Day 1 was seriously tiring. But it’s a different kind. The kind that tells you it’s all worth it. They may be like this now, but I’m sure some of them will turn out to be professionals someday. Nothing beats the joy of a former student coming back to say thank you because they succeeded.

And just like that, we’re starting over again, teachers. Let's keep our cool. It's normal to miss a few things. What matters is that we will give what we can. We’ve got each other on this journey.

Author

@bisdako A Public School Teacher

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