Ir’s October 31st, and in the chilling shrills of SCTV’s Count Floyd, “AAH-OOOOOOOOOOOOO, it’s very scary!!!!”

That’s right zomboys and ghouls, two months of school have flown past faster than a banshee in a frighter jet. Did you stop to breathe? Have you had a chance? Did the start of the new school year take your breath away?  A new year can be full of tricks and treats for both new and experienced teachers alike.

Congratulations, by my calculations 20% of this year’s pumpkin pie has been sliced and served. What memories will you take away from these first two months. In my class we take some time to thresh out what’s been alright from the blight.

We had another reorganization due to rapid growth in our school. That meant quite a few changes. Some students had to be moved to new classes, we welcomed new staff, and in some cases routines needed to be re-established with a completely new classroom dynamics. Did you have to re-organize after prepping all Summer for a different grade?

Did you smile? Did you know that some teachers were taught not to smile until November? I couldn’t make it past the first day. Chris Emdin’s TED Talk Teach teachers how to create magic shows us a better way. Now this is something to howl about. AAH-OOOOOOOO!!!

Has your year been a fright or a delight so far? Beware as the chilling thoughts of report card writing are lurking around every corner. When I first started teaching I was tormented by minutia of learning the operating system, communicating learned, strengths, and next steps in parent friendly voice, administrative preferences, and to make sure I had enough data to back it all up. VERY SCARY!!!! With the support of my grade partner(s) and a cauldron of caffeine I have slain the very beast that haunted my early practice.

How are you balancing the tricks and treats of classroom life? Did you give yourself permission to enjoy the experience? I find that teachers get so caught up acting like humans doing that they forget to enjoy that they are human beings. Where’s the treat in that?

You owe it to yourself to take time to take it all in while taking care of everything in your classroom. You’re an educator who stands alongside a room full of time machines, each with boundless ideas and imaginations. So that if we’re going to be afraid of something it will only be the boundaries we try to put around ourselves and therefore our students. Now that’s something scary. Happy Hallowe’en.

 

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