We’ve all been there before. Perhaps, we remember a particularly salient first day of kindergarten, middle school, high school, or even college. Maybe we look back on those memories with fondness or remembered anxiety. Regardless, many of us will quickly offer a word of sympathy to those students in similar situations this month without having ourselves been in that position in quite some time.
However, as a new faculty member, a non-native to Rome, and a product of public education, I will have the unique and meaningful experience of being truly new to Darlington this year. As I progress through orientation this week, I am not only reminded of what it feels like to be in a foreign environment surrounded by simulated upperclassmen in my fellow veteran teachers, but also the anticipation and unyielding excitement of becoming a part of something that is greater than myself. For the first time in a long time, I am able to look on my fifth-grade students with a sense of empathy for our shared newness.
As a counselor, I find myself in the position of needing to not only search for innovative methods to addresses my student needs, but my own as well as I seek out opportunities that will empower me to be effective in this novel environment. And, like the fundamental issue at the core of both of these issues, the answer seems to be the same in each situation. Involvement.
Many professionals at the collegiate level will tell you that, in regards to retention, involvement is one of the number one factors it seems that contributes to college success as well as satisfaction. Likewise, it’s rare for a parent not to show concern at their child’s socialization in the early years of school. Yet, it seems that there are two particular points in our lives where we are often encouraged to set aside our basic need to belong and concentrate on higher order endeavors. In my experience, middle school and the professional setting are these instances. We forget that, second only to safety and our basic physiological needs, human interaction is vital to us as human beings. Without it, babies fail to thrive, children fail to develop language, and new faculty members take to talking to themselves.
All joking aside, I encourage new faculty and students alike to get involved. Make social connections to with your peers that will not only fulfill your basic need for belonging, but may also contribute to much of the following:
