My Homework on the 1st Day of School
Every year on the first day of school (or Teacher's New Year as we like to call it), we ask our students to write a letter to themselves detailing their expectations, hopes, and goals for the year ahead. Tomorrow, we will collect their (sealed) letters and put them away until the last day of school. It is always fun to watch students laugh as they open their letters at the end of the school year and are shocked by their growth (as writers, learners, and more) and how their perceptions and expectations have changed! Below is my letter to myself: Dear (future) Nina, No matter how many first days of school you teach, they always feel the same: exciting, exhausting, and nerve-wracking! There are so many things I am joyfully anticipating this year: a third year in a row teaching the same grade at the same school with the same co-teacher (unprecedented stability for me), mentoring an