Notes written after my first day on the new job:
"I’ve worked my first day as the sole media specialist for summer school! On my list of tasks accomplished? I helped a teacher add her school email account to her iphone, I checked out some laptops to teachers for their students to use, processed about 100 hdmi cords and added them to our collection, checked out a number of books to students (mostly Manga or anime for today’s crowd), helped supervise a computer lab, consulted with a tech about a malfunctioning computer, scheduled a few laptop carts and computer labs for teachers, signed for a delivery of computer monitors, chatted with a member of the custodial staff about New Orleans since she is from Louisiana and saw my NOLA drinking glass, fielded a few reshelved a whole cart of books (again, mostly Manga and anime for this crowd) and....ate lunch.
What a change from my job as of two short weeks ago! I had a great, if not very quiet, first day in my new role. I admit it is already an adjustment to be here instead of with the kids in the classroom, but I don’t think that’s a negative thing. Will I ever get over the feeling that I’m supposed to be somewhere else? That I’ve left a group of expectant people unattended? I would like to know the students’ names or at least something little about them, but I expect I will find news ways to build those relationships.
I also admit to being a little nervous. For that reason, I spent as much time as possible in the new building to make myself feel more comfortable over the last two weeks. I wanted to soak up as much information as I could before my first day alone - I observed everything and asked as many questions as I could. I can be a situational spy when I want to be. Plus, I am such a creature of habit that I knew I need to just be in the space for a while to acclimate. After doing that by attending a few training sessions held in the buliding, and making a little cheat sheet for myself to use (passwords, important phone numbers, procedures, etc.) I was feeling pretty solid about my start.
Of course the first person to come to me was a teacher asking about how to add her email to her iPhone. Could I help her? Yes... Could I remember exactly how I did this on my own phone, my own iPad, my own computer at the time that she was right in front of me? Not exactly...
So, I looked up the server on my iPad. Step one. We added that to her phone but the email account still wouldn’t verify. Whaaaat? So I thought I was pretty clever by looking up the server name I had forgotten on my own device. Well, maybe not clever, but resourceful. And when that didn’t work, I was afraid I would be revealed as a fraud! An imposter! A phony! I was stumped just long enough to tell her I’d work it out and email her the solution. And don’t you know it, about three minutes after she left I figured it out. It was a silly mistake that equated to not having the right box clicked.
I don’t think I seemed overly flustered when this very nice teacher was with me, but I annoy myself when I let the fact that I have an audience knock me off my game. Something to work on while I learn the ropes, I guess. Goals are good to have, and mine are basic. Survive with some grace leftover at the end of the day. Luckily, my partner in the media center is a confident and knowledgeable woman who has been working in this role for over a year. So while I get it together, she will be able to fill in my holes. I only hope I can help her the same way soon.
What do I have to prepare for tomorrow? Nothing. Sure, there are some things that we need to accomplish before the beginning of the school year. Tutorials to plan, iPads to distribute, instructions, support materials, procedures, best practice lists, mission and vision statements as well as Media Center expectations, etc. But for tomorrow, I just need to come in and continue to help students and teachers as needed while I knock out my to do list in between. No lesson to plan and no known challenges or schedule ahead of me. I think I like this deal-with-whatever-comes-at-me part of the job. And the school bells - really, they mean nothing to me since I don’t have to live by their decree the way a teacher does. What a freedom, a luxury in the world of education. As for my classroom? I just keep telling myself that I no longer have one in the traditional sense. I have a beautiful Media Center full of gorgeous windows, 9,000 brand new books and plenty of couches and tables for working, reading, lingering, meeting. I no longer have one classroom full of kids who need me. Even though they may not need me often or for extended periods of time, I have a whole building of students and a whole faculty of teachers and administration to serve. I’m excited for day two!"
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