Starting an entirely new program, in a new building, with teachers I'd never worked with (or met, in some cases), with FRESHMEN, was a pretty crazy idea if I do say so myself. When the furniture didn't come on time, we rolled with it, when we didn't have all the periods covered, we jumped in. However, we all had some tipping point, where the "flexible" approach seemed like a made-up philosophy at best and an annoying catchphrase at worst.
On one of the particularly insane earlier days in September, one of my fellow teachers looked like she was ready to run from the room. I knew the feeling. We all did. Afterall, we were taking a group of students and starting a "school within a school," and forging a supportive community to meet the social and emotional needs of students while also teaching Regents classes. No biggie.
I remember saying, "I feel the same way. I promise there will be a day in October where everything settles down. It will be a boring day where everything just kind of works out the way it is supposed to."
Friday, October 11th was that day. It gets easier in October.
