Today was “Day 1” of year 15 of teaching. It was virtual. And my face hurts.

My face hurts from smiling so big when I met my students today. Like, maybe if I smile big enough they’ll feel my joy for teaching and warmth for students through their screens? I didn’t think I would feel a connection with them through a screen but I did and I’m grateful for it because I realize now that students are what makes teaching great.

My face hurts from talking more than I have for months…and for longer periods of time since schools closed in the spring. And I got tongue-tied often because I was just so excited to be their teacher. I caught myself having to pause often to let my thoughts catch up with my mouth.

My face hurts from laughing with all my colleagues; it’s only Day 1 and we’ve already got stories to share! All the disasters and successes all wrapped up in day 1 of 182 days of school. But, you know what’s really cool? My department hasn’t communicated this frequently before and it’s giving me some real peace knowing we are all in this together.

My face hurts from staring intently at my screen, searching the faces of my virtual students; looking for any signs of engagement. It was such a relief to see smiles, nodding heads, thumbs up, and laughter at my silly mistakes. I was so glad to see some familiar faces in class; last year’s Int Math 1 students that are now in my Int Math 2 classes.

And also…my face hurts from keeping my composure when I saw students not engaged, not paying attention, texting or clearly talking to someone else in the room. I quickly reminded myself it’s all about giving these students grace and in time they’ll engage…and honestly, maybe they won’t and that’s okay too.

We, teachers and students, are learned something new every second of this day and honestly, it was kind of a lot to take in…oh, and it was only a half day today. So, yeah, my face hurts.

Now the real work begins.

~PV