Last month, I was chatting with a colleague of mine. We work down the hall from each other and, as in the nature of education, we rarely get a chance to talk during our busy days. But this time we learned a little about each other.
As it turns out, Marc is a pretty cool guy. He is an expert in audio/visual everything and plays three different instruments. I also learned that he recently started playing with a band. Though he hasn’t played with others in awhile, Marc and his bandmates were in the beginning stages of getting together. There’s been jam sessions, practicing, playing at his friend’s parties and the like. He shared that he was quite enjoying this return to music in his free time, but he especially loves it now that he feels he and his bandmates are getting better at playing together.
Marc shared that the first few months were rough. The bandmates were still figuring each other out. It was tough to learn to play together and support each other while learning new music and getting used to the new routine of weekly practice. There was a lot of frustration mixed in with the excitement of coming together, but now it feels fun and light and enjoyable.
I think it’s a similar story for every collective. In the beginning of the year, school staff might have a shift; perhaps new grades or divisions for some, new teaching partners for others. For some of us, we’re in completely different schools with an established staff and for others a completely new staff is coming together for the first time. Everyone in the school is working hard teaching and supporting the students in different capacities while simultaneously getting used to new routines, new curriculum, welcoming new students and families.
The early days are filled with excitement and focus on students and curriculum. For me, I’m often so busy that I forget to make time to get to know my colleagues. The days are long in the school year as I try to keep up with the pace and get to know students. But it always seems to go better when I take the time to get to know my colleagues, as well. We are each finding our own places on staff – who tells the funniest stories in the staff room, who is passionate about teaching math or drama or history. As we find ways to support each other professionally, we also need to remember to support each other personally, too. Getting to know each other and building community with our colleagues are all ways that help the entire school to feel fun and light and joyful.
I wish I hadn’t taken so long to connect with Marc and learn a little more about him. While it’s hard to make time to build connections with my colleagues because of the busy, long days it is something that I need to make more effort to do. He reminded me that relationships with colleagues are important. A quick conversation or a shared laugh can shift the tone of an entire day. These connections don’t erase the long hours, but they do remind us that we are all human.
So as I face yet more changes in the coming year with another school move, I’m committing to noticing the people around me and to learn the stories behind the names on the classroom doors. When we build community together, our school becomes a place where laughter rings like music and joy has space to grow.
