Advice to 1st Year Teachers (Part 2)

As you may know, my first year of teaching was rough. So rough that now, two full years later, I am still dealing with the scars.  Every day that I have a rough day in the classroom, I think of some of the harsh words spoken to me my first year about my capabilities as a teacher.

This is something I combat constantly.  It's a mind shift.  A choice to not let those words define me as a teacher.

First year of teaching is so crucial and so difficult.

In case you missed it, I would encourage you to check out "Advice to 1st Year Teachers" that I wrote last year.

Someone asked me if I was going to do a blog like this every year and build on the information that I learn.

Sure!  Why not! So here it goes.  Round 2.

I love seeing the excitement of first year teachers.  You are finally getting into the classroom!  It is a dream come true.  Having been there, I want to share advice from my first year so that you can have a much better first year than I did.

1. While I was getting my education degree, I saw some incredible videos about classrooms running smoothly.  But it was always in the middle of the year.  My biggest question was, "How did they get there?  They certainly weren't there at the beginning of the year."  The best answer that I got was "lots of procedures."  But...but...how?

Recently, I found this e-course by Linda Kardamis called Classroom Management 101.  It is so detailed going through how to set up your classroom and how to prevent and handle problems in the classroom (for example: setting up procedures, creating discipline plans, dealing with complaining, dealing with every problem from the very start, handling blurting and disrespect, and discussing how to speak with parents and students among other things).

Even going into my fourth year of teaching, I learned so much.  I would highly recommend going through this course before going into the classroom, even if you are still without a job.

2. And speaking of being without a job, you may not find one until very close to the school year.  I found mine two weeks before school started.  But still do your best to prepare your classroom management as much as possible.  Do not give up!  And if your gut tells you not to go with a job offer, maybe wait it out and see if another one comes along.

3. Please, please, please, get a good night sleep every school night.  Whether a good night sleep for you is 6 or 9 hours or anything in between, you need your rest.  Some of my dumbest mistakes as a first year teacher were on days when I got 4 or fewer hours of sleep.

It was crazy.  Don't be like me.  I thought if I stayed up, I could finish everything that I needed to do.

Surprisingly, when I started getting more sleep, I was able to do more.  Counterintuitive, yes.  But very true.

After all the decisions that we as teachers are making daily, you need to make sure you are taking care of yourself. Here is a blog post that I discovered that explains this after school exhaustion so well: Why Teachers are so Tired.

4.  Checking e-mails or communicating with parents at home is exhausting.  Save yourself, and set up a time to do all of that before you go home.  Also if you get an unpleasant e-mail at home, it ruins your evening with your family or your friends. And nobody wants that.

5.  Great teachers are always learning and improving their craft.  Don't think that after year 3, you will know everything there is to know about teaching. Having just finished year 3, it's not true.

6. No teacher is perfect.  It is hard to realize this when you are going through Pinterest or seeing teacher blog posts.  Yes, they may have their beautiful, no mess room, or that absolutely clever idea.  But remember, people choose the pictures that they share.

Every teacher that I have spoken to has had difficult days throughout the year.  It doesn't mean they're a bad teacher; it just means we're all humans and we are working in a field dedicated to working with other imperfect humans.

7. Your children will surprise you every single day.  It might be their witty comments or it might be their creativity.  If they come up with a great idea, allow them to explore it.

This year, I was explaining to my children that no one knows the author of the book of Hebrews in the Bible.  One child eagerly asked if they as a class could try to figure it out.  The others eagerly agreed.

I stared.  It wasn't in my plans.  In fact, I had something else completely different planned for them.  But I said "Sure!"

What was amazing about this was that they started eliminating potential writers; they did some history research and matched up the date that Hebrews was written and when this particular person died.  I did not teach them that, but I loved that they were using the critical thinking skills that I did teach.

They dug into reading the Bible to find the themes of Hebrews.  It was truly an amazing research and discussion assignment that the children were eager to discover (even if we will never get the definite answer on Earth).

8.  Find ways to get to know your children outside of just academics.  This year, I put up a sign-up sheet for lunch with the teacher.  I told the children that they could sign up with a friend once a week.  Some children came every week; others only came a few times.  But each time, the children loved the privilege of eating in the classroom with the teacher, and I got to know my children more deeply.

I set this up the way I did because I did not want it to be a reward.  Not the "If you're good, you can eat with me."  I wanted it available for any child to come, and they did.  We played games together or we just sat and chatted as we ate our lunch.

9.  The more work you do up front, the more time that you have for other things.  For me, this looked like making copies and preparing all of my supplies on Monday for the entire week (sometimes even two weeks if I was really on top of it).  Then I stored the copies into drawers labeled with each day of the week.  This allowed me to leave earlier, and it gave me more time to do things outside of teaching.

10.  When you have a problem or a difficulty or you just cannot quite figure something out, ask other teachers that you know and trust.  Another option could be to find an online community of teachers that you can seek guidance and advice from.

11.  You learn a lot in professional development, especially if it is professional development that you choose.  You know your needs so find something (book, conference, trip etc.) that will help you grow as a teacher.  And sometimes the best part about professional development is that they tell you about something that you already do.  And suddenly, you feel like an awesome teacher.  Excellent morale booster.

12.  When you look at your desk, and you think "Ugh!  It's so messy!"  just remember that the most creative people are the ones with a messy desk.

And if your desk is neat and tidy, then you are that much closer to teaching efficiently with very little time wasted.

13.  Don't compare yourself with others.  This is so difficult to do.  It only causes anxiety.  However, be humble enough to ask that teacher that you admire how they do it.

14. For no reason whatsoever, your children will find ways to show you they love you.  Sometimes this looks like a drawing of you, sometimes a piece of candy with a "This is for you, Miss So and So,"  and other times it's a beautiful rose that the child picked just for you.  Even if it is the smallest thing, show them the appreciation they deserve.

They are telling you that you are an amazing teacher!

So what did I miss?  What advice would you give to first year teachers?

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