Note: Some of my closest friends are elementary teachers. This is not an attack on elementary school teachers. There is nothing I am writing that I would not say to my teacher friends.

Elementary teachers are pretty intense, demanding, and freak out pretty easily. Within the first 4 days of school, they frequently over react because a student may struggle with reading, producing clear speech, exhibit a short attention span, or have difficulty with impulse-control. I see the patterns at the beginning of every school year.

They seem to forget that they aren’t the only individuals getting used to being back at school. Kids have to adjust too. They need time to recall those reading skills and establish a school routine.  Our brains get rusty if we don’t continue to practice our skills. You know what? The skills return pretty quickly once the cobwebs are destroyed.

Give kids a chance to recall the information previously learned. It can take 3 to 6 weeks to get the synapses to reconnect and recall the information. It also takes hundreds of repetition to form a habit. Give your students a break. You don’t remember to make and take your lunch to work right away. You don’t remember your duty assignments on the second day of school, do you? Probably not. Stop freaking out so easily. Relax. Kids adjust. You adjust. I understand your job performance is based on how your students perform on state tests. Breathe. It is only the first few weeks of school. It is still early in the year.

That speech problem may resolve itself. That boy may remember his phonics skills within a couple of weeks. You don’t need to call the Calvary for suspected behavior issues. Give your students some time to get acclimated to new surroundings and routines.

You’re stress makes the majority of us stressed.

~A. Mac