All that you know is about to change...

All I can say is WOW. 

It was a day of many firsts. I was early for work for once. Two hours early actually. It was the first day back to school for the kids. For many it was the first day of school at all! But for me, it was the first first day of school to kick start my teaching career! There is something to be said about writing this post.... I have survived!

The day has been an absolute whirlwind bcause everything I was taught in teachers college was tested by a new country, school, and 25 sets of eyes staring back at me. In a funny way, not being told what to expect kept the adventure exciting and new. I would say that it's because of this that I am even more driven forward into the unknown. This experience is all about becoming a professional. How do the pros get to be better? It's by starting brand new and making mistakes. Oh boy were a lot of mistakes made today. 

In the morning they walked in and we talked about Canada. The kids were SO taken in by everything I said, and many asked some VERY brilliant questions. My teacher-y heart leapt for joy to learn that I had a class of inquisitive children. Oh, and they were rather well behaved for the most part. Moving into morning assembly time, I was very impressed with the school overall. Moving on with the day things slowly seemed to go downhill behaviour wise, but I still wasn't worse for the wear. Thankfully, each teacher has an assistant working with them, and the woman who works with me is Karen.  The TA's job is to aid in the classroom in and what a life saver she is! Canada could definitely learn a thing or two with this system. The rest of the day was tough slugging. It became more of a question of survival than anything else. 

That's what brings me to where I am now. I learned in teachers college that it's not about surviving, but it's about thriving. When adversity comes your way, you don't run from it, but instead you look it in the eyes and say "thanks for dropping by". Today may have questioned my pedagogy and values in the teaching profession, but it certainly didn't squash my spirit. If anything, I have learned more in one day of teaching than I ever thought I would. So what if it wasn't the best day! There's only the rest of my career to figure it out.