First Day of School

Today was my first day back in the classroom as a teacher after a two-year fellowship that allowed me to finish my coursework without any extra responsibilities. I am so grateful for that fellowship, because I'm not sure how I would have completed my heavy course load in two years without the opportunity. But I'm also very excited to be back in the classroom.

I see teaching as an excuse to dress up most of the time, but especially during the first week or so, I like to be especially formal. I had planned on wearing a specific grey dress today, but it was so hot out (103, a bank sign said!), so I changed my mind at the last minute. I apologize for cutting off my feet. I just wore simple black ballet flats from Old Navy. And, yes, that is a naked photo in the left corner. It's the Adipositivity calendar.

Dress: Lucie Lu

Shrug: Lucie Lu

Necklace: Gift from my grandma

I'm not totally in love with this look, though I do love the dress. It was too hot for a cardigan, and I didn't want to bare my arms (and my big gay tattoo) the first day, so I felt the need to wear something. It's a very comfortable dress, and I love the lace detail and the collar. I think this outfit was a good compromise between necessity and professionalism.

I'm also very happy with the way the class went. I was excited to help in the addition of a non-discrimination policy to the syllabus, and I also included preferred name and preferred pronoun sections on the student info sheet I always ask students to fill out the first day. I got a few strange glances, but I think it's good for people to get used to the necessity of asking about pronoun preference rather than making assumptions, and encouraging my students to look beyond their assumptions about something is going to be a huge part of the class content, so I see it as a perfect opportunity. I admit, I'm excited for this group. A lot of them are theater and dance majors, and as a poet and former theater geek who also went to a big dance school, I love getting the chance to work with creative people.

I settled pretty easily back into the role of teacher, even though I had my awkward moments. I kept dropping my cane and then tripping over it, I would lose my train of thought, and I was sweating profusely when I got to the room. But it was hot out. Being physically uncomfortable is something I really hate about teaching, as with two chronic pain conditions and a disability, I'm often uncomfortable. Adding sweat and clothing malfunctions and all manner of other things definitely makes it difficult for me to focus on teaching, but I also give myself a break since it's been long time away from teaching, and this is my first time teaching this class.

I'm going to spend the rest of the day reading my students' textbooks and preparing to teach on Wednesday.

If you're headed back to school, good luck on your first day, and let us know what you wore!