10 Lessons I Learned My First 2 Years of Teaching.
Hello!
It’s almost the end of the school year, and although a lot of you are stressing our because of coming or ongoing observations, planning finals and trying to keep children on task, it’s a great time to reflect and pat yourself on the back having survived one more year! Hooray!
In this post, I’m going to share ten lessons I’ve learned in my two years of teaching in a public school system.
For some of you who don’t know my struggles as a new teacher, read this post about my struggles. I need to say, a person and a professional I am now is due to the constant reflection on my practices in a classroom, reflection on the recourses I have used, strategies and techniques I have tried. A lot of transformation for me was possible thanks to the massive action I decided to take to change my reality and the way I felt. Now that almost two years of teaching are behind my belt, I have many lessons I want to share which can help any new teacher to navigate their first year as well.
Lesson 1: Procedures. Procedures. Procedures.
I cannot stress how vital routines and rules are in the classroom. To avoid having chaos in your classroom, teach students, steps, rules, routines every single day in September and reinforce them every single day of the school year. Each school district has specific requirements for the lesson steps. In our school, these steps are the following: Do Now, I Do (direct teacher’s instruction), We Do (practice together), You Do (individual practice), Exit Ticket. I tweak them sometimes based on the topic I teach.
As for routines, explain and model for your students how to:
– work in groups,
-ask to borrow for a pencil,
-ask for permission to go to the restroom, have a little snack, drink from the bottle in a classroom,
-ask for extra paper,
-ask to join another group,
-ask for clarification,
-etc.
My classroom rules are pretty simple and target concerns I aim to avoid starting from day one. Feel free to download and use my class rules: ClassRules.
Lesson 2: Eliminate ungrounded misbehavior at the very beginning of the school year.
The first month or two can predict what your classroom management will be like throughout the whole year. Don’t tolerate misbehavior that threatens the order and creative process in the classroom. Address them right away. Among the types of misconduct, I always fight the following:
– Use of cell-phone in the classroom,
– Use of bad language,
– Disrespect to a teacher and other students,
– Littering,
– Damaging school property.
I employ the following strategies to deal with such misbehavior:
1) Talk to a student one-on-one and find out the reason of misconduct.
Sometimes students didn’t eat or and a terrible day at work or school. Talking to a student and letting them share how they feel creates better relationship and trust between a teacher and a student.
2) Let students know what consequences will follow misbehavior.
For example, extra homework, an email home, conversation with an administrator, a call home, suspension. In my experience, a conversation one-on-one was almost always effective to stop misbehavior from happening. In rare cases, I referred a student to an administrator like a school VP to talk to.
3) Model good attitude and good behavior.
I cannot stress how sensitive students are to the teacher’s mood. If I don’t feel active, my students pick up the same spirit. If I feel low energy, students feel the same. I always try to plan my day mentally. I know what bad days for teacher look like. I’ve been there. What I’ve learned is when I show them how to act appropriately, showing respect, students will copy the same pattern of behavior. Students are the mirror of your thinking and behavior!
4) Show students that you respect them and care about them.
Good vibes are contagious. Genuine interest in students’ lives, good and bad moments help students develop trust and respect to their teacher. I know students can be terrifying and annoying, make the first step towards productive relationship! This is what I do to help me build a relationship with my students:
a) Ask students questions about their families,
b) Ask students questions about their likes and dislikes,
c) Play their favorite music at the beginning of the class,
d) Compliment their sneakers (lol),
e) Ask about their feelings,
f) Show that you also feel sad and tired sometimes,
g) Ask students about what they ate for breakfast,
h) Remind sick students to drink tea with honey and take care of themselves,
i) Smile!
Lesson 3: Don’t expect to become perfect and efficient very fast.
The idea of learning something from scratch includes a failure step. Failure is inevitable at the beginning of your teaching career. It will happen no matter how much you read, plan, prepare. But here is the catch: failure will make you much better than any workshops, books, and PD combined. Accept that your lesson will suck for some time. Accept that your students will not listen to you from the very beginning. Accept that you will probably make five tries before you make something better. Accept that errors will happen and welcome them! I have a post about “It is important to fail in teaching.” I highly recommend to read it.
Lesson 4: Focus on one goal at a time.
A teacher does millions of things a day and takes millions of decisions a minute. There is no way…Let me repeat that: there is noooooo way you can do everything and become good at everything. Focus on one goal at the time. For example, my first-year goal was to survive my first year! I know it sounds funny, but it’s true. And guess what? I completed the goal! I survived! He-he. My second-year goal was to perfect my classroom management. I didn’t care as much about the lesson plans to be perfect or my anchor charts to be helpful and engaging. I was fixated on the classroom management because I understood that effective classroom management would affect the whole school year. If I have my class under control, the year will be easy. Good classroom control will save my sanity, help me teach more efficiently, create a great atmosphere in the classroom, and make the year worth it. So remember – one goal at a time!
Lesson 5: Listen to podcasts.
I will be honest, a lot of books on pedagogy look boring to me. I feel like I’m turning into a student bored with a boring book. What I found working for me are the podcasts. I would listen to them in my car when I’m commuting to and from work. Listening to podcasts while driving saves time and is very productive. I am a happier teacher because of everything I learned from podcasts. These are the podcasts I highly recommend because they are education-related:
1. Cult of Pedagogy by Jennifer Gonzalez
2. Truth for Teacher by Angela Watson
This one is mom’s life podcast – Shameless Mom Academy by Sara Dean – because, hey, I am also a human, a mother, a wife. Listening to this podcast, I’ve learned to prioritize self-care and relaxation. Go ahead and subscribe!
Lesson 6: Sign-up for “40-hour work week ” club by Angela Watson.
You need to pay for this course, but it is so worth it! I started this course in January 2018, and now we are in May. I’ve learned so much, and the whole experience made me so happy that I recommend it to every single teacher no matter how many years of experience you have! By promoting this course, I do not receive any compensation. It’s my genuine desire to share how wonderful and transforming this course has been for me. In January, I’ve learned about practical tools to make assessment less dreadful and more effective. In February, I’ve received tips and tricks to arrange an excellent communication with parents. In March, I’ve understood much more about putting students first and scores second. In April, I was excited to read about work and life balance because the quality of my life matters to me. Right now, I am learning about remarkable ways technology can save teacher’s time. Since I’m graduating in December, I have a lot to learn and am I thrilled to change my teaching life so that I reach a balance. Once again, I highly recommend this course because I have seen many positive changes in my teaching since I enrolled.
Lesson 7: Don’t bring your teacher’s responsibility and behavior home.
I know how hard it can be to leave your teacher’s role as you walk out of your classroom. Your mind is still replaying everything that has happened during the day. You are subconsciously planning your next lesson or unit. You are still mad at how crazy your students were today. You are contemplating about what you should and could have done better. You are thinking about supplies to need to pick up from one dollar store. You are dreading that pile of papers to correct or administrative work to do. I hear you! I felt like this too. What I’ve learned is bringing all that home is a bad idea. Bringing home all the school stuff, lousy attitude and exhaustion is not fair to your family, and it’s not worth it. Your family members don’t want to hear your ranting about that disruptive student or the paperwork you need to fill out after your observation. Save your sanity! Keep your school life out of your house! In the end, home is the place to relax for you too. Switch off your teacher’s mind. Become a mom, a wife, a friend when you come home. Not being a teacher at home will help you rest, enjoy time with your loved ones, energize you for the next day of work. I have some other tips on how to take it easy. Read my post “How to be an un-serious teacher.”
Lesson 8: You are not that bad as you think.
Very often our image of ourselves is the result of an isolating behavior and limited communication with other teachers. I’ve learned that connecting with others can be quite a powerful tool for professional and personal development. When teachers see each other fail and crew up, it creates a connection, a feeling of comradery; it urges to work together on figuring out common problems. When teachers see each other success, it uplifts, inspires, tells you that positive changes are possible and success is doable. Besides, sharing and connecting is an invaluable source of free resources for your classroom. You can exchange techniques, materials, ideas, books, tools, etc. By connecting, we start seeing our real value and our unique gifts. We open the channel of discussion and professional growth. We become happier about who we are and what we do. Stay connected!
Lesson 9: Your life does not have to reflect your profession.
Being an educator can be a rewarding career. It’s even fun sometimes. Just kidding. There are of course ups and downs, but my experience, especially the second year of my teaching, was quite enjoyable. However, teaching never reflected my life. In fact, my interests are entirely different from pedagogy. I love reading about the topic of personal finance, investing, healthy living, traveling, phycology. At some point, I was into jiu-jitsu. You can google that, but it’s a kind of sport. I love watching judo and MMA matches on TV with my husband. I love drawing I enjoy working out and go to the swimming pool. I am also interested in web design. I would say I try to keep a healthy relationship with pedagogy and teaching. I read books and articles related to my profession exclusively during my school day, or I listen to some pedagogical material on podcasts while driving. At home, I prefer to switch off my teacher’s mind and emerge myself into topics that are entirely my most significant interests. This switch helps me relax, recharge my batteries, see things from different perspectives. I love being not a teacher when I am home. It gives me a good break and becoming a teacher every morning again is less overwhelming and tiresome. So the lesson is: pursue your interests. They may or may not be related to teaching. But do what brings you joy and help you grow personally.
Lesson 10: You are just a human. Take it easy.
Yes, you are. So do it.
Talk to you later! Get this poster free! –> 10 things that can make your teaching life easier.
