Welcome to the most impactful and rewarding field in the entire world!
So you’re a first year teacher and you’re probably freaking out….Have no fear, every amazing educator has a first day, first week, first month and first year. There will be celebrations and there will be crying involved but every moment will be worth it as you see those students leaving your classroom knowing more than when they entered. Below are some teacher tested tips for first year teachers. I say teacher tested because I’ve used these tips consistently every year. At the end of each tip you will see Teacher Tested: with an explanation of how this tip has worked for me.
1. High Expectations.
I’m sure you’ve heard about having high expectations throughout your teacher preparation program and professional literature. I cannot stress enough how important this is (hence why it’s number one on my list!). There is nothing worse than a teacher who enters the classroom with a predetermined idea about a child. These predetermined ideas can come from a child’s record/file, another teacher or a classification such as English Language Learner or a student with an IEP. When students enter your classroom, they have a brand new experience and chance to experience all that you have to offer. Maybe the teacher he/she had last year wasn’t able to connect, maybe this child needs a little extra help, maybe this child needs to learn the material a different way; either way, the child must never feel that you don’t think that he/she cannot perform because the truth is all students can, it’s all a matter of how you approach the student and how consistent you are.
Teacher Tested: I had a student a few years ago that was a NON-READER. He had an interrupted education, as he was back and forth from The United States and another country. However, I gave him the same work (yes, sometimes it meant working in a small group with a teacher, sometimes it meant working with a higher level student, sometimes it meant listening to reading on the computer) and this student PASSED his New York State English Language Arts exam. I’m NOT KIDDING! Having high expectations works.
2. Be Prepared.
They’re not kidding when they say preparation is key. You will likely spend a lot of your free time planning for instruction. Every. single. second. is. worth it. I cannot stress this enough. Believe me, you would much rather be over planned than under planned. You can always roll over the information you didn’t get to today, tomorrow. Students can tell and can feel when a teacher is under prepared and this is simply asking for disruptions, arguments and negative behavior. Avoid this at all costs. As a tip, within a tip, save every lesson, assignment and activity digitally and back it up to some type of external hard-drive. This will make your life much easier from year-to-year.
Teacher Tested: I’ve had minimal distractions, disruptions, arguments and negative behavior when I’ve been prepared. It is when students are unengaged or participating in unstructured spur of the moment activities that these behaviors occur.
3. Find Your Marigold (Mentor).
In my second year of teaching I came across an article talking about how important it is to Find Your Marigold. I will put the link in the Articles Tab for more information, it’s truly one of my favorite articles and I revisit it each school year. Let’s face it, educating the future of tomorrow is a challenging job. There will be days when nothing goes right, regardless of these tips and that’s okay. There will be days when you will need a shoulder to cry on. There will be days when you will need someone to celebrate something your students were able to accomplish. You want to find a person to share these moments with; a person who is going to support you, celebrate you, encourage you and inspire you.
We all know the “Negative Nancy” in our lives; this is the person you want to keep at an arm’s length. Do not let their attitude about their current employment situation discourage you or bring you down. Every time you feel like giving up, confide in your marigold and only your marigold. Do not let the toxicity of a building, team, or person dull your shine. Positivity is contagious. Bring it where ever you go.
Teacher Tested: I’ve found my Marigold/ Mentor. I know who will be willing to celebrate something my students were able to accomplish and also let me cry on their shoulder when I’ve had a really tough day.
Keep shining and changing the world, one student at a time.
Xo,
