Some of you have already actually started. You know bells, syllabi, and students. I can say I am a little fortunate: my academic year won’t start for another two weeks.
While I’m writing the draft of this blog, I’m actually sitting, waiting for a seminar to start so I can pass a test to administer a state controlled test for this academic year. At this point, I have leafed through the three-inch binder with the updated information about procedural information and I’ve reintroduced myself to the entire process so I feel confident and comfortable I will pass the exam later this morning.
Comfortable and confident. These skills come after years of experience, however, the most seasoned veteran knows that comfort is usually short lived. There are a lot of things that make the pending school year uncomfortable. Individual concerns like which campus you may be assigned to and the challenge that await you. There are group concerns like what will the students be like this year, what will everyone experience as the district has now formally moved into Common Core, and what will be the tone of the entire academic year. There are concerns that have yet to manifest themselves: new medical concerns for students, parental concerns, and changes in academic demands.
I temper these worries knowing I don’t have to think about them just yet. I know some of my co-workers view my listings as insanity, but I know they are on the horizon. And while they are not within my scope of control, they will be in the scope of my response. In two weeks.
Most importantly though, welcome back isn’t only about concerns. It is about reminding everyone why we return every year. It is time to renew the attempts of trust, respect, professionalism, recognition of growth both socially and academically, and academic promises between students, staff, teachers, and administrators.
Above all else, even with the nervous energy of the school year: it’s about new. New students, new classrooms, and hopefully, a sharpened pencil or a new app on a device.
I wish you the best for your academic new year. If you are new this year, welcome to a gateway career that will change the way you look at the way academic is delivered. Be calm in the face of panic, be with your students, find a silver lining every day to enjoy. There are 180 days that will be very unique. The job is a sprint that lasts a marathon. Make the most of them.
While I have your attention:
ParaEducate has had a really busy summer. In May, a severe technological issue basically destroyed the blog. We have been working on repairing the technology, but it seems that even larger issues may have even prevented us from saving our blog. We will continue to repost our published blogs as we can find them.
For two academic years now, ParaEducate Blog has been posting about issues of academics, social growth of students, professionalism, and other issues faced by paraeducators and other individuals who work with students focusing mostly on students with disabilities. We hope to continue to help individuals seeking information about disabilities and strategies to help reach paraeducators all around the globe.
Other locations from ParaEducate include Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. While we make most efforts to duplicate our information across these platforms, there are often different materials we will engage with and create just for these venues. Please take time to find us online and comment.
ParaEducate is a company created around helping to train paraeducators to better handle their job. We have offered trainings to districts and have been at several conferences. We always enjoy going out to conferences and hope our messages have been reaching others.
A secondary goal of ParaEducate is the creation of academic materials to be used with students with disabilities. Our materials can be found in our store fronts through Teachers Pay Teachers, Teachers Notebook, and Amazon.
This summer we have been proud to release “Just The Words: Science” for use in a general education setting for students with disabilities.
As always, if you have any questions, you can always reach ParaEducate. We look forward to hearing from you.
Do you have a question for us? Find ParaEducate online here, here and here. ParaEducate is company interested in providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published weekly during the academic school year on Thursdays, unless a holiday. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
