New School Year Obstacles

Every year I, as with many teachers, look back at the end of the first couple weeks of school and wonder how I survived. Not that there are 30 kids to a classroom in rural Alaska like some urban schools, but there are unique obstacles to overcome in isolated villages.
Therefore, I made a short list addressing a few problems and offering my expert advice based on personal experience. It is far from complete, but here it is in its
non-entirety.
First, don’t sweat. I mean it. A daily bath isn’t always guaranteed. Especially, if a water pipe broke the day before school starts and you have to haul water from the river each day for three days. That was a bummer. I sweated carrying five-gallon buckets of water. A shower was in order, but couldn’t do it without running water.
Instead, I relied on my vast bush experiences to get me through this dreadful time. My solution was to pour the river water in a wash pail (large plastic salad/serving bowl in my case), set it in the bath tub, get in the tub and give myself a steam bath wash without the steam. The Westerner term would be “sponge bath.” It’s cold and you may feel like a penguin after a refreshing swim, but at least you won’t stink up your classroom.
However, there is the issue of clean clothes. I got lucky. Only had to hand wash under clothes one time. I was down to my last shirt and jeans when the water line was fixed.
Secondly, be sure to draft a preliminary class schedule. If teaching Special Education like yours truly, be aware that it will change – several times. I had to consider the other teachers’ schedules and disrupt their day as little as possible. I’d say I’m on my tenth draft by now, but perfection comes with practice.
Thirdly (and in theory) you should get a good night’s sleep to begin each day alert and ready to take on the daunting task of teaching. In reality, sleep may only be a short snooze and alertness can be faked depending on the strength of the coffee. It depends on the individual.
Fourth, know your students’ names. Connect them with faces - their face. Kids are pretty forgiving and politely tell you their real name when you get their names wrong. But there is a limit. I’ve noticed the limit of forgiveness for calling someone by a different name is around four times. After that it is best not to attempt the name of the student. Kick back a while. Either someone will call the nameless student by his/her name, or they will hand in their assignment with their name printed on it. It works pretty well unless they speak and write their name in Yupik (the local Native language).
The fifth and final thing I’d like to address about the beginning of a school year is have some sort of organization for remembering things. I try to write items in my planner or on the small note pad I carry in my pocket. I spend the first few minutes of the day compiling the information into one daily list. Then I rip out the used note pad sheet(s), throw them away, and begin my day.
Just make sure that you have transferred all the information you need before tossing them in the trash. That way you don’t have to think of something else when you get to the “fifth and final thing” in your column.

(Tundra Teacher Tales is available at www.booklocker.com/books/973.html in paper back or immediately in an ebook.)