First Year of Teaching – Expecting Excellence

First Year of Teaching

Last minute reminders

The time has finally come. All of your preparation has been worth it. You may have been waiting for this day from the time you were a little child playing school. You have navigated your undergraduate program, completed your student teaching, passed all licensure exams, and now have successfully secured your first job. Your students will be arriving any day now.

I hope you have read some of my past articles and have begun to process some of my advice. I also hope you have reached out to some experienced teachers and have gotten a good idea of what you can expect. I am optimistic that your formal mentorship has begun. Relax! But relax only for a brief moment inasmuch as your journey is just beginning.

As you think about the first day, keep the following ideas in mind:

First impressions are critical. Students are inclined to make up their minds very quickly about their new teacher. You get no “do-overs” or second chances. Your first impression matters greatly when you deal with the entire cross section of people you will meet. Of course, this includes your students, their parents, and your colleagues. Please make sure you are well dressed, well prepared, well organized, and articulate in your conversations. Speak slowly and clearly and look people in their eyes when you talk. When speaking to the whole class, do not fixate your stare on the back wall. Recall your best practice public speaking skills.
Treat everyone with respect. Students especially need to feel respected and valued. Communication breakdowns will usually occur when one feels disrespected or de-valued. This feeling does not necessarily have to be true. If the perception exists, it is just as damaging.
Treat students in a friendly manner. However, believe me when I tell you, they do not need more friends. I hope you see the difference. They need a teacher. It is crucial that you establish clear boundaries and never cross them. New secondary school teachers, because of the narrow age difference, may feel the need to be the “cool” teacher and the students’ pal. If you feel this way, you are headed for trouble. Although I encourage you to empower students and give them voice in their class, you must still be the authority figure in the classroom. Students hate it when a teacher allows a student to hijack the class. Although they might find it on the surface humorous, they resent the intrusion in their learning time.
Relationships matter. If you have read any of my other articles, you know how important this concept is. Education is all about how one navigates the relationships they build. It is critical that you work hard to establish respectful, positive, supportive, and appropriate relationships.
Please be consistent. Do what you say and mean what you say. Think before you speak and do not threaten the class with idle threats. This may work one time, but the class will soon see through this charade. Inconsistency will quickly put you on the road to failure.
Work hard to connect with your parents. Parents should not be feared. You should not feel intimidated by parents. Work to build a supportive relationship. There is that word again. Do you think by now that relationships are important? Make a point to reach out to your mentor to get some sound ideas and advice on this subject. I will delve deeper on this topic in future articles.
Prior to the first day, make sure you know your building and know the specific critical procedures. Work extremely hard at establishing a very positive rapport with the principal’s secretary and the head custodian. They both possess important knowledge and can allow you access to people, products and facilities. Do not take these people lightly. They are extremely important in the hierarchy of a school.
Work to ensure that students are busy every minute. Use time wisely, and do not waste it. Students having idle time will create enormous problems for you. Have every moment well planned and have back up plans in your head. Prepare creative and student centered ways to review procedural and perhaps mundane tasks. This may give you a perfect opportunity to foreshadow your teaching style and techniques. They may learn within the first few minutes of the class what the year will be like. You will never get this day back!
Remember that you are new and when dealing with colleagues see and hear a lot but say very little. Please do not infer that I want you to isolate yourself. Quite the opposite is true. Find your “marigolds” (see prior posts). Stay off social media sites. You could put something in writing that you will regret. Do not gossip or talk about students or staff. Do not denigrate your school and district. Watch what you put in e-mails. Do not use your school e-mail for personal use. Never put anything in writing when you are emotionally upset or angry. Read your message three times before you push the send button.
Make sure your lessons are exciting and engaging. In general, we tend to do a very good job of boring our students to death. Try to avoid an over reliance on handouts. Can you teach the concept without creating a handout? Last year I visited a classroom, and there were 12 handouts lined up on a table ready for distribution. As a parent, when I go to open up my child’s backpack, I do not want to be overwhelmed by a potpourri of handouts. I encourage all principals to institute a handout free day. I like to think on those days teaching will improve.
Work to maintain an appropriate life /work balance. New teachers can burn out very quickly. You must maintain your life outside of school. Although you are enthused and committed to your students, do not get consumed by it. Maintain your friends, outside relationships, and activities that give you pleasure. Go visit the gym. Exercise will do wonders for you. Eat right. Get the right amount of sleep. Have fun at home and in school.

Good luck and have a great year.