Some Encouragement for a First Year Teacher

Breathe.

No really, take a deep breath or a few if you need. :) 

The first year is hard. Why? Because, most likely you feel unequipped or even worse, imposter syndrome. You have this feeling of dread that you may not be qualified for this job since your classroom has become such a disorganized place where students seem to be in charge over you. It feels almost impossible to go through a lesson without disruptions or power struggles. Then, on top of that you probably come home from school feeling burned out only to spend the evening stressed thinking about the next day. You thought you would teach these amazing lessons and live out this idealistic dream of you teaching a classroom full of 100% excited and engaged students. Yet it seems that most of your days in the classroom are filled with managing the chaotic and disrespectful behavior of your students rather than actually teaching them. You might have worries about being fired and end up failing at something you had dreamed of pursuing. This reality of being a teacher is not what you were expecting. So what’s going on? 

Let's return for a second to the word unequipped. Most teacher preparation programs are structured with classes oriented towards providing a good foundation of theory on how to teach. However, it's just a theory. What you as a first year teacher lack is practice. You might say (if we were having a conversation) I did field observations and student teaching! I have plenty of practice. Yes, you are right and you may have even taught a few lessons here and there. Let me ask you this, when did you do your student teaching? In the spring or the fall? My guess is that you will reply in the spring. In fact, most student teachers conduct their student teaching observations and practice in spring. However, having a new teacher such as yourself do these observations and lessons during the spring places you at a disadvantage. See, the second semester is when a teacher (typically) has their class systems and culture all set up and functioning. I’m guessing it was in those spring observations and lessons where you got most of your ideas on how to run your classroom initially. However, when you tried to implement them it did not work and so in a moment of panic you threw out what seemed to be great ideas in pursuit of finding the “perfect” system or answer that would help fix the chaos and dysfunction you are facing. Sound familiar? You are not alone. I did the exact same thing and felt like quitting too. I had that thought of throwing in the towel many times my first year. It’s not you, it is a lack of proper training.

As mentioned before, most student teaching opportunities occur in the spring and not the fall.This is a crucial mistake in the preparation of new teachers. It is in the first couple weeks of school that a good teacher begins laying the groundwork for what will soon be a well-functioning classroom come springtime. Setting up this classroom takes time. It requires the teacher to consistently model and repeat their expectations over and over again until their students are able to follow the expectations of the classroom. It takes quite an effort. But if done properly, the rhythms of the classroom are set and it only takes small adjustments here and there to make sure it stays in shape and does not become chaotic. Having a well structured classroom gives you back the energy to focus on actually teaching, not just managing behavior! Which results in more often than not having truly joyful, laughter-filled times with students and even parents! Yes you read that correctly. The reason why all those wonderful tools and tips you gained during your spring time observations did not work is because you never saw them being established in the fall. It's as if someone handed you the right tools to fix a tire but never taught you how to actually use them. The problem was not in the tools but your lack in knowledge with how to use them.

So take another deep breath. Reflect. Take some time to evaluate where you are at and what to do next. Start small, make a list of a few expectations and how you want to teach them, then implement it tomorrow and be ruthlessly consistent with it or it will never stick. Make sure to resist the urge to change expectations just because it's not working. Remember it takes time and there is no perfect system. It's all about finding a handful of expectations you like and sticking with them. It’s not the end. You can do this. Teaching is as beautiful as you always imagined it is also hard too. That’s important to acknowledge as well, teaching is not always easy. There are good days and bad days no matter how good of a teacher you are. And yes, having a 100% focus from your students is not realistic of an expectation and that is okay. Teaching is a messy business, it's not always straightforward. Students come from all sorts of backgrounds and bring with them different gifts and challenges. On top of figuring out how to teach a group of very different students, people expect you to be an expert on the first day. You are given lots of responsibility while still learning the ropes! As hard as that tension is, the struggle and strain of the first year is worth it once you make it through. So make it through. As I was once told by my mom when I was crying and overwhelmed on my first day of university: “Elie, just take it one day at a time and you will make it.” So now I say to you Mr. or Mrs. teacher, “take it one day at a time and you will make it.”

Now go out there, take some deep breaths and go enjoy this profession you know deep down you still love and say good morning with a big smile to those students waiting for you.

Rooting for you first year teacher!