First Days and Titanic

First, a story. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you've read this story before. A few days before the first day of my first year of teaching at Center, my all-too-wise wife asked me what I had planned for the upcoming weeks. I confidently told her "I'm not sure, but I'll figure it out."

"Uh, you know school starts this week, right? What are you going to do on the first day of school?" she wondered aloud.

I had no answer. I was headed out into choppy seas not in a cruise ship, not in a battleship, not in a yacht, not in a sail-boat - hell, I wasn't even in a canoe. I was getting ready to embark on the most difficult voyage of my life* basically on the door that kept Rose alive in Titanic, which by the way totally could have fit Jack on it as well.

*Check that. Second most difficult. I have a daughter now. Kids redefine words like "difficult". 

Fast forward 6 years to tonight, the night before my 6th first day of school, and things are slightly different. And by slightly, I mean I've traded in the door for what is probably a pretty sweet yacht. Still working towards the cruise liner. I think it will be called Ridiculous History Teacher of the Seas whenever I get there.

So what will I be doing with my 9th graders tomorrow? What will their first lesson from the wise Mr. Chambers be? What will be their great memory from day one?

I'm going to convince them that a phillips head screwdriver is Good* and teach them a little bit about Socrates, a little bit about history and a little bit about philosophy without them knowing.

*Hat-tip to the great Gary Armstrong. Double hat-tip to I-Week for my college fraternity. You know what I mean boys. [Insert super secret handshake here]

I'd love to write more, but it's getting late, my beautiful daughter and even more beautiful wife are both asleep, and I've worked my butt off to get to this point that I'm at right now:

It's the night before the first day of school, and the only emotion I feel is excitement. No nerves. No anxiety. No stress. Just excitement.

Happy first day of school everyone!

Thanks for reading this blog! I hope you'll consider taking a moment to comment below and turn this into a conversation. Whether you are an educator or not, we have all had common experiences with education both good and bad. I want to hear what you think! 

About Me:

My name is Alec Chambers. I am a high school history and government teacher at a small, urban public school in Kansas City called Center High School. We regularly kick tail. Among many awards, we were named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2014. I don't just teach at Center- I also graduated from Center in 2006 after attending Center Schools K-12. I have a degree in Political Science, a second degree in International Relations, a third degree in Education and a Master's of Arts in Teaching. I have an unofficial degree is soccer. All of those degrees have led me to the high-paying teaching profession! I have a newborn daughter and am married to the most awesome woman on the planet. Seriously. It's a proven fact.

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