Chapter 4: It’s All About Relationships: (Re)Imagining Classroom Dynamics to Foster Student Engagement

Anxiety has already taken a hold of me and I’m not even near the room yet . My palms are sweaty and my eyes are in and out of focus as other students rush by me from the opposite direction. I can feel the right strap of my backpack sliding to the outside of my shoulder. My steps become more robotic as I approach what will be my classroom for the year. I pass by several wooden doors of classrooms with students putting away their lunch boxes and unpacking their brand-new school supplies. More students pass me in fast motion, some of them running to meet day one’s doom at the schoolhouse. I can feel my feet getting heavier as I slow down more and more, thinking that Room 24 is just ahead on my right.

I can no longer control my nerves as I approach the spot directly in fron t of the room, and I can feel a droplet of sweat slowly oozing down my forehea d as I prepare to enter this room that I’ll be trapped in for the next 180 days . Before I can situate the strap that has made its way down my upper rightarm, a figure that I hadn’t noticed before standing on the wall outside of th e room called out to me, “Cameron, good morning and welcome to the Roo m 24 community! I’m so excited to have you this year!” I respond with a sligh t smile, trying not to show my anxiety as the teacher points me in the directio n of the cubbies.

The room smells of fresh flowers which are laid one by one on each des k that I walk by to reach the place where I will be assigned to leave my belongings each morning. When I reach the cubbies, there is a stack of blank nameplates and a marker to write my name on it. I realize that I can choose my own cubby! I am overcome with a feeling that I will be noticed in this classroom and it is making me eager to learn. I stand proudly, adjust my righ t backpack strap, and start writing my name slowly and neatly. I realize tha t this is going to be a great year!