Overloading the start

Tomorrow, for the first time this year, I’ll actually stand before students and teach.

Needless to say, I’ve had a lot to prepare.

Now, as usual, I over-prepare and bog myself down in details which could easily be overlooked.

While my to-do list has been substantial, I’ve been given ample time to get ready.

But, this is not how our academic year began.

Like every year, it kicked off with a meeting.

A lengthy meeting.

A meeting with A LOT of details.

Sure, some (maybe even many) of them were vital to hear in person.

But, if I were a new teacher - be it straight out of university or just at a new school - it would feeling overwhelming.

Names.

Dates.

Acronyms.

Procedures.

Students.

Curriculums.

Assessments.

Concerns.

Day one would have been an mass of information overload.

Frankly, I’m glad that the start of my teaching journey didn’t include a full-time teaching load.

A massive workload, underlined with a flood of fresh information, would have made me feel even more uncertain about day one than I was otherwise.