There is the checklist they give you when you become a teacher.

Then there is the checklist you create because you quickly realize there are approximately 47 things nobody thought to mention.

Simple checklists have saved my life.

Not because they make teaching simple. They don’t.

But because when everything feels like it needs your attention at the same time, having somewhere to start can feel like a small act of sanity.

When I wrote Class Is In Session: The Expectant Teacher Survival Handbook, I...

Chapter 1: First Day of School

There’s something unforgettable about the first day of school.

Not because everything goes according to plan, but because nothing ever really does.

Long before students fill the classroom, you've imagined this day more times than you can count. You picture yourself greeting each student with confidence. You rehearse introductions in your head. You straighten the books on your shelves one more time, erase a board that was already clean, and check your lesson plans...

Every Teacher Has a “Perfect Day” Until They Don’t

Before the classroom keys land in your hand, before the lesson plans, before the first parent email, there’s a version of teaching that lives entirely in your imagination.

The desks are perfectly arranged.

The students are eager to learn.

Every lesson flows exactly as planned.

You leave each afternoon knowing you made a difference.

It’s a beautiful picture.

Then the first day arrives.

A copier jams five minutes before class. A student cries because...