First day jitters and joys As we began planning for our September issue, we were all sure that it had to be special just like our previous issues. What could be better than asking teachers to go down memory lane and recall their first day at school? Was it something to cherish, or did they just want to forget some of the embarrassing moments? For teachers as for children, first days are always a big transition either from one school to another, or a first job for many young teachers with stars in their eyes, waiting to work with children. For most of them however, the butterflies started fluttering days in advance. They all had a word of advice. While Achamma Abraham suggested one must be prepared for anything, Steven was on the lookout for booby traps in his class and Simona was only too ready to learn from her class children. That is just how each and every teacher featured here built long lasting relationships. Read on, your day is really special. I get teased by my students about my ‘grand entrance’ Hena Mehta, Mumbai “Establish respect”, “Let them know who is the boss” and “No, I don’t think they can smell fear” were the answers I got from more experienced teachers two years ago, as I sat trembling at the prospect of being bullied by these heathens other teachers seemed to despise. Thoroughly petrified at 18, I stepped into the classroom to teach French and the first thing I did was to stumble into class, thus effectively killing all possibility of ever using any glowering stares I’d learnt painstakingly over the summer. I ended up forming a universal alliance with the children, that of shared embarrassment! They realized that teachers weren’t the aliens they thought they were. I’m glad I share an extremely informal relation with my students; learning is more fun this way. Till date, I get teased by my students about my ‘grand entrance’ regardless of what shoes I have on! My hands and legs were trembling Tulika Saha I had been looking forward to it no doubt, but needless to say I was nervous, so much so that my hands and legs were trembling. I walked into the classroom. I thought that I should at least know the names of my students first. I introduced myself briefly and wrote my name on the board, so that there was no confusion in their minds. Then I asked the students to introduce