Bernice Douglas - final thoughts 2012

Back to School – A reality the minute you walk into the beautiful classrooms, wide-eyed children staring back at you, loads of paperwork to finish off, bustling rosters to get your thumb around, names… and yet more names to add to your check-list of “what to study tonight”… Yes, your first few hours, days, weeks could seem simply overwhelming, until you realize you are not alone.

I came to Lebone aiming to become one of the best teachers they had; however, I soon came to realize that I could not do this on my own. There is no “I” in TEAM soon reflected a deeper meaning, and this was when my learning really kick-started.

New Teachers Café gave me, and novice teachers alike, the opportunity to expand our knowledge in profound ways. We gained insight into situations that we each shared and laughed over the craziest things children were up to these days. You know what they say: “Ten minds are better than one”. This prospect of time to discuss developmental needs of the children opened my thinking-patterns and created a world of ideas. With the aim of improving our skills, our ideas shared soon opened a labyrinth of initiatives to overflow into our respective classrooms.

We gave each other inspiration, discussed pro’s and con’s as well as commonly-faced challenges. Not to mention how to cope with everything at once, and still be teacher with a smile on her/his face, with a welcoming heart and a spirit to teach. This is where I felt at home, and suggest you do the same.

Lebone employees will soon become your colleagues, and before you know it… your Family.

Nevertheless, back to business… In this New Teacher’s Café you will receive a journal. A tip I offer you: USE this journal every chance you get! It’s very easy to say you can get along fine without it… sure. It’s also very easy to realize its potential in empowering your skills once you get a hold of it. Jotting down ideas, thoughts and so forth will show a pattern in thinking. Your challenges will be easier to identify, and problem solving becomes a strategy to be mastered one step (or one scribble) away.

Yet some of my main challenges still remain class management. Our prescribed book for these “sanity-sessions” was Teach like a Champion, and if truth be told, assisted me with this dilemma. A vast variety of techniques to practically enhance our classroom opened a huge door for me. All the way through, my journal enabled me to identify diverse possibilities; from remembering students’ names to positively grab the attention of the little ones almost every second of the class.

However; like everyone always say: In a blink of an eye your year will come to an end, and that is so true. The big 2012 rounded off with a feeling of jubilation, yet melancholy and yearning to look back, and keep on going. My year has been quite the experience.

I would like to thank each and every person in Lebone for enriching my life, my skills and my experiences. Without the teamwork, shared visions and professional atmosphere, I could not have done it.

I look now through different glasses…