New Teachers Say They Have a Bad Case of the Back-to-School Jitters

It isn't just students who are feeling anxious about going back to school.

For example, there's Sylvie Utteriyn, who learned some last-minute tips on how to teach problem-solving in math classes as part of a week-long training organized by the city’s Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers.  

Utteriyn, who will teach special ed at P.S. 189 in Brooklyn, said the first day of school is more unnerving for first-year teachers than incoming students. 

“It's pressure for us," Utteriyn said, "because we have all of those 25 or 30 set of eyes that are going to look at us, like, what you got for us?"

But Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza tried to allay those fears when he stopped by the training by giving some advice that was based on his own experiences as a bilingual teacher.

"Just remember, be you,” he told the group. “Do you because nobody does you like you, so just do you and kids will be fine."

Carranza was named chancellor of New York City in schools in April. When schools open on Sept. 5, it will be the beginning of his first school year as the head of the largest system in the country.