A New Beginning

I worked at my previous school for a decade.

That meant, for nine Septembers, I returned to school after a summer break one or more steps ahead:

• I already knew the majority of pupils I would be teaching;

• For those I didn't know, I would know many colleagues (both within my department and other parts of the school) who I could use for information. (Who does little Johnny work well with? What does Jenny not cope well with? How do you think Gary will deal with the sarcasm of a bald fat old man? Does Geraldine do insert odd/annoying/worrying thing with you, too?)

• I would have access - easy, familiar access - to data and systems to get myself fully acclimatised, before a single pupil walked through the door;

• I had my own classroom, with my own things, my own routines mapped out and so on.

• After a few years, I also had a reputation - pupils who didn't know me knew of me, had siblings who had been taught by me, had friends who spoke fondly of me (as fondly as teenage friends tend to speak of bald, fat, old maths teachers with a penchant for terrible puns and sarcasm...), knew the results pupils had achieved with me.

This August, I sit here pondering an unfamiliar problem: Where do I begin??

New school. New expectations. New routines and procedures/policies. No classroom to call my own. And...

They don't know me. Not a clue. (Maybe one or two might remember me from the interview lesson... unlikely!)

I'm a firm believer that one of the most important - maybe the most important (TM) - thing in teaching mathematics is the relationships you have with the pupils - that layer of comfort, familiarity, safety you provide to them.

Those expecting me to wrap this blog up with a ribbon of knowledge and insight may be disappointed - I've not had to start anew in a decade, and I'm much older and less wise (certainly less sure of myself) now. But, here are my thoughts to my initial foci:

1. Learn their names. Immediately. Nothing helps develop a relationship less than not knowing who you're talking to. (This is actually the hardest thing for me... I've taught thousands of students and my memory isn't what it used to be...)

2. Ensure my first few lessons are excellent - like, really, really, really good - so that the pupils feel they can trust me to do the job properly.

3. Baseline, baseline, baseline! Take every opportunity to 'suss' where each student is in their learning journey, how they take to different types of tasks and challenges, how they work with others, what they enjoy - baselining is about more than just SAS and targets. The first few weeks are as much about me getting to know where they're at as it is trying to make progress; I back myself that once I know where they're at, I'll be able to take them forward much more effectively.

How do you start in this situation? Is there a silver bullet in your eyes? Is there something I'm missing? There are obviously so many other things that I'll need to do, data I'll need to gather, systems I'll need to learn; and some things will be beyond my control (classroom environment and resources, seating arrangements)... but, I'm there to teach, and the above are my first foci for September. If I get those right, by October hopefully I'll be in a place to get each student to where they need to be.