First Day for a New Teacher

The day started hectically. It would end that way, too. But Laurie Buckel, a new teacher, wouldn’t have it any other way.

Arriving at Fern Drive School early Tuesday, Buckel checked and double-checked the room which she had spent the last three weeks preparing for this day. She reread her lesson plan and stuffed official forms into new folders. She was, she thought, ready for the first day of school to begin.

But before the first bell rang, her 28 new second-graders dumped their book bags at the door and fled to the playground for that precious, last 15 minutes of summer freedom. Looking at a small mountain of book bags, Buckel realized that she hadn’t thought of everything.

“Oh, well, we learn as we go,” she said.

And learn she did. She learned names and faces, she learned not to use non-permanent ink on name tags, and she learned that she is happier being a teacher than anything else in the world.

As schools throughout the county begin gearing up for a new year, Fern Drive School on Tuesday opened to more than 600 students. And one new teacher.

Laurie Buckel, 32, is one of hundreds of new teachers across the county and part of a new class of professionals who have looked back at their careers and realized that they weren’t where they wanted to be, said Carol Barnes, head of the department of elementary and bilingual education at Cal State Fullerton.

“What I’m seeing is that a lot of people who are committed to kids didn’t go through (a teacher-training program in college) because they didn’t want to waste a year of their lives and not have a job when they got out,” she said. “Now that there are teaching jobs out there, they are willing to take a pay cut to be with the kids.”

That’s what happened to Buckel.

She gave up on the idea of being a teacher while still a student at Cal State in the early 1980s, she said, because she didn’t think she would be able to find work. She got her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice instead and joined the university’s police department as a parking officer.

But in 1990, Barnes said, “the demand for teachers is back on the rise in Orange County” and even more so in other Southern California counties. “We’re having problems now with districts wanting our graduates before they get their degrees.”

So Buckel, a mother of three, now is doing what she wanted to do.

“Just three years ago, I never thought I’d be doing this. Teaching has really changed my perspective. Can you imagine being a meter maid instead of doing this?”

As she awaited the 8:45 a.m. bell, she wondered “what these little faces will look like. Kids just adore their teachers, and they will believe everything you say. So you better say the right thing.”

She was more excited than nervous, she said. She had spent a year as a student teacher and four weeks of teaching this summer. But the practice didn’t erase the first-day jitters.

“I’ve planned everything out, but you never know what to expect,” she said as the time finally came. “Is that our bell? Oh my gosh.”

Marching out to meet her class for the first time, she immediately offered compliments even before she knew any names.

“I really like the way this young man is lined up,” Buckel said, as the rest of her 28 students snapped into a straight line.

Quietly and with visible excitement, the children filed into their classroom. They looked around at the colorful bulletin boards and posters announcing class rules, alphabet letters and vowel pronunciations. Some ran straight for their desks, each equipped with a school box, a name plate and a name tag.

The day was filled with learning the rules--assembly rules, general school rules, class rules, assignment rules, homework rules and going-home rules.

“Hopefully, tomorrow will be more fun,” Buckel said.

When the six-hour day was over and her students were on their way home, Buckel sat back for the first time all day, looking at a roomful of empty chairs and construction paper clippings. But she wasn’t ready to go home. She said she would spend the next two hours grading the practice math and spelling tests her students took to see who was going to need extra help and attention.

“This is like my dream come true,” she said. “This is one of the best school districts to teach in. And I love it here. Teaching is a fun job. I think it’s fun. I just hope I say that in five years.”