With it being the back-to-school issue and all, we figured why not pick the brain of a local educator to find out what goes into a new school year? So we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Galvin, a first-grade teacher at Bow Elementary. This is her third year as a teacher, and she’s ready for the student takeover.
So tell us, how hard is it to come back from having the summer off?
In my experience, it depends on the kind of summer a teacher has to determine how challenging it is to face reality that the month of August has come so soon. It does take some time to get back into the swing of things, but once the classroom starts coming together (after many days spent setting up and rearranging the same piece of furniture numerous times until it’s just right), teachers start to ease into their teaching schedule/routines.
What kind of fun and exciting stuff does someone like yourself do with the summer off? Do you work any summer jobs?
This summer I spent most of my time finishing up planning and working on the final touches for my wedding that was in mid-July. Once things began to settle down, I spent as much time as possible up on Newfound Lake with family and friends enjoying the simple summer nights.
What’s the first thing you did when you walked into your classroom earlier this month?
The very first thing I did was took a look at all the furniture in the middle of the room, and walked right out! I headed down the hall to see what teachers were around to catch up with to distract me from the work that was ahead of me. On my way to find some teachers, I peeked into rooms to see the progress everyone else had made, which made me feel not even a little bit better. When an hour of procrastinating had passed, I put on some music and began by taking off all the labels on the furniture.
When it comes to decorating your classroom, how do you decide what to do? Does it take all summer to plan?
When deciding how to decorate the classroom, I have always found it helpful to have a theme. This keeps me a bit more focused when it comes time to come face to face with the Target dollar section that must be strategically placed to draw teachers in. In regards to deciding where furniture goes, I have tried a new set up each year. It is always helpful to recruit a family member, for me it’s been my mom, to help rearrange furniture back and forth until it all eventually flows correctly. When deciding where it all goes, I try to think about what worked well from the previous years and what might support the students coming in as it is their classroom just as much as it is mine.
How long does it take to prep for a school year?
There is a lot that goes into prepping for a school year from setting up, getting organized, refining practices and thinking about my students. It is hard to put a time frame on all of this as it is continuous throughout the summer. This prep work might be getting done while sitting poolside with a book or even looking through Pinterest while the TV is on in the background. In my experience, I have taken the summers as an opportunity to relax, but to take advantage of the time to discover ways to improve my teaching practices.
And when it comes to a class of new students, do you have any tricks to help remember what names go with what faces?
With having a class of about 17 students, it never takes more than the first day to know all of their names. We usually play some name games to help us all know one another. Also, the names seem to get imprinted into memory after labeling a few items like hooks, cubbies, name tags, book bags, writing journals, math journals, folders, etc. with student names.
What do you look forward to most at the start of the year?
At the start of the school year, I look forward to seeing what the personality and rhythm of the class will become. It takes some time for this to be established as it requires students to get into the routine of the school day and to build relationships.
It’s probably pretty nice to have a three-day weekend to look forward to after the first week?
After the first week of school, students and teachers are both looking forward to the long weekend as everyone seems to be a bit tired. The extra time off with the holiday weekend comes at just the right time to help the transition from summer days to school days.
And finally, are you a fan of the “Insider”?
From this point on, yes! It has been a pleasure working on the back-to-school issue and sharing a slice of the teacher’s perspective.
