First Day Jitters

Whew! I survived my first day of teaching! It was quite an experience knowing that I did not have that person beside me to walk me through things but it was also exciting to know that I was fully in control of my own classroom. It was great meeting the students and getting to know them a little bit. It was quite the hectic day with basically 2 assemblies, installing/communicating a new LMS (Learning Management System) to the students, and so on. We are using a LMS called Canvas by Instructure which is fairly new to the LMS world. It is new this year to all staff, students, etc... and will be fun to do some trial and error with that. If you are looking for more information on Canvas just click the word and it should take you to a website. 

As I was going through each class I wanted to focus on communicating to the students one thing: I am here to help them succeed. I wanted them to know that failing is not something to be afraid of and that it will be a sign of growth and learning in my classroom. I created an acronym for FAIL and it stands for First Attempts In Learning. I want my students to be risk-takers and be willing to fall down a bit before reaching their full potential. 

We went through the syllabus stuff and talked about Canvas and I actually lost my voice halfway through 4th period (woops!). The greatest part about today was knowing that I have the opportunity to help these 120 kids of mine grow over the next semester/year. It really is going to be a fantastic year and I can't wait to get started.

Below I have included a video from one of my favorite individuals on YouTube, Kid President. This "peptalk" goes out to teachers and students. I hope you all enjoy and have a fantastic year! 

-Derek