I Begin my First Kindergarten Class

I started teaching professionally after earning my BA in education at Boise State University. I interviewed for a fifth grade position at Sunny Ridge Elementary, a rural school where my children went to school and a kindergarten position at Lincoln Elementary in town. I took the kindergarten position because my own childen were more near the age of fifth graders and I didn't want to come home to the same thing after dealing with fifth graders all day.
My classroom was in a portable unit behind the school. I was excited to get my classroom ready for the first day of school and make my lesson plans.
I don't remember a lot about many of my first students, except one. She was a Romanian girl , recently arriving in the United States and speaking no English. Her mother brought her to school on the first day but as soon as the mother left, the young girl started crying and trying to run out the door. All I could think of was how difficult it would be to find her if she got lost in the neighborhoods near the school and all the dangers that lurked there. What would I do if I lost a child the first day of school? It would be so much safer to stay at school until her mother came to pick her up. I didn't know what to do except hold her tightly in my arms so she wouldn't escape. I taught my first day of school holding her screaming and crying in my arms.
What I learned: Many times in life we think we would be better off if we could run away from a situation. If we will just take a deep breath and not panic, we will find that there are many people who want to help us. It will be OK!