Last weekend was Labor Day, of course. For educators around the country this also corresponds, more or less, with the start of another school year. A couple of my closest former colleagues in the education biz and I typically wished each other Happy New Year at this time of the year. So, to educators everywhere, Happy New Year! I hope it is a rewarding year for you as you work to make it a great experience for your students.
As I have reflected since last weekend about the start of the new academic year, I realized that this is the first Labor Day around which I have not started a new academic year as either a student or an educator since 1962 when I entered Kindergarten. That’s not a typo. 1962. Sixty years ago. I’ve gone to school in one way or another every year since before the Cuban Missile Crisis…
Here's my class photo from that year!
My first 13 years were spent as a public-school student in the Hopewell Valley Regional School District in central New Jersey. Actually, that’s not quite true. When I started Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades, the school district had not yet been regionalized. The elementary school I attended for grades 3-6 was Hopewell Elementary School. But for those earlier grades, since the district didn’t exist in its current state, I was bused 5 miles in the other direction, all the way into Pennington. The elementary school in Hopewell was only for those children who resided inside the boundaries of the Borough of Hopewell. One or two of my friends who lived outside the borough to the east of town rode the bus right through the borough (almost right past the school) and then down the road to Pennington for either the Primary School or Pennington Grammar School. I attended both before 1965.
In Fall 1975, I started my undergraduate degree program at West Virginia University where I eventually majored in elementary education and special education. I started five fall semesters (75-79) as a teacher candidate (to use contemporary terminology) because I was on the 4 ½ year plan. 😏 The Fall 1979 semester represented my student teaching semester at Kingwood Elementary School in Kingwood, West Virginia. That capstone requirement was a very transformative experience, to be sure. Plus, I had a lot of fun at WVU (see aforementioned 4 ½ year plan).
I started every single school year of the 1980s as a public-school
teacher in the Mercer County Special Services School District, also in central
NJ. I spent half that time teaching
adjudicated youth in the Mercer County Juvenile Shelter and the other half teaching
elementary students with significant physical and intellectual disabilities at
the Regional Day School. During those
years, I approached the new school year with more of a sense that it was just
something I had to do – summer was over, and a new school was upon us. I enjoyed teaching, don’t get me wrong, but as
each year unfolded, I did look forward to holidays and eventually the last day
of school before the next summer break.
We didn’t have social media in which to proclaim to everyone how elated
we were for summer break. In present
day, I often wonder what the parents think when they see these sorts of celebratory
posts from professional educators, perhaps even those who had their children in their classes. You know
the ones, animated gifs of teachers dancing out of the building in June to an
Alice Cooper soundtrack. Not a good look, really.
In 1990, my family and I moved to Charlottesville, VA so I could
attend grad school at UVA. I started
three academic years as a doctoral student there, and my oldest son Corey started
his first academic year as a preschooler at the Chancellor Street Preschool
Coop. Corey’s was a great program and foreshadowed
my family’s involvement with Camp Treetops beginning in 1999. Both are student-directed, progressive
programs that allow children to act on their own natural inclinations. Each would have made Dewey smile with pride. I've written previously on why I don't think it far-fetched at all that Dewey may have actually visited Treetops.
The Fall 1993 was my first academic year start in higher education. I started fall semesters at various institutions (Virginia Commonwealth University, West Chester University, and Millersville University) and in various roles (assistant professor, associate professor, associate dean, interim dean, professor, and dean) every year until Fall 2021. I always found the start of fall semester on college campuses to be full of joy, hope, and promise. Each year a new cohort of students joined our communities with so many visions of their future selves and with the determination to roll up their sleeves and make those visions come true over the course of the ensuing 4-5 years. The exhilaration I felt vicariously never failed to capture me as I immersed myself in my work in those academic communities. There really is no better place for an academic to spend one’s days than on a college campus.
Sixty years of experiences have led to many memories, and they provide many opportunities for further reflection. But not now. In future posts, perhaps.
Until next time…
Thanks for sharing George good thoughts
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