10 Things I Wish I Knew My First Year Of Teaching

My first year of teaching was a blur.

At the time, it didnt feel like a blur. It felt a joyous, adrenaline-fueled rush of lessons, meetings, and new relationships.

But in hindsight, it was definitely a blur. And now, years later, I can see a few simple tweaks wouldve gone a long way.

1. Prioritizeand then prioritize again.

You cant do it all. You cant save everyone. You cant change the world, your school, department, or even (the entirety of) your classroom in one year.

If Id have known that, Id have started with what I absolutely had to get done, and worked backwards from there.

2. Its not your classroom.

It felt like my classroom.

Name on the doorway, students coming to my room, my name on the rotation for bus duty, district walkthroughs holding me accountable.

Philosophically, it was really more the classroom for the students, but even that isnt entirely correct. Its really the state or districts classroom. At the end of the day, in lieu of all of your training, development, and instincts, your jobor my job, ratherwas to implement the school and districts policies to the best of my ability while leading the students to mastery of the national standards.

Not endearing, but true.

That doesnt mean you cantor arent expected todo all that you can to provide a compelling and progressive learning experience for your students, but if pursuit of that started to collide with school and district non-negotiablesas it often didthat perspective wouldve helped.

It wouldnt have dismissed me from personal or professional accountability, but itd have helped me internalize that friction much more fluidly.

3. Students wont always remember the content, but many will never forget how you made them feel.

One day, youll just be the blurry face in an adults memory. Theyll likely not remember how a poet used symbolism to establish a harsh tone in a poem, and they may not remember you, but theyll never forget how you made them feel about themselves.

4. Get cozy with the school custodians, secretary, librarian.

Youll need them.

5. Longer hours isnt sustainable.

Change your habits and workflow instead.

But you couldnt have convinced me. All the teachers I saw lugged papers and gradebooks with them everywhere, so I thought I had to as well. Silly me.

6. Student behavior is a product.

Classroom management is more about the design of learning experiences than it is behavior.

I was given several trainings in the school classroom management system, but didnt understand that behavior was almost always a product of the way I designed learning experiences mixed with my relationship with the students. Thatd have been nice to know.

7. Dont get sucked into doing too much outside of your class.

But if you feel the need to be involved, do so with both feet.

I did the best I could with Academic Team my first year of teaching, but in reality, the students deserved ten times the support I gave them.

8. Help other teachers.

Because youre going to need them.

So much is beyond your control, and it is your relationship with your colleagues that will sustain you when youre behind or confused. I focused so much on curriculum, instruction, and the students themselves that I neglected this part.

If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.

9. Reaching students emotionally matters. A lot.

Relationships start with being authentic to students and helping them to feel understoodnot respect, clear rules, and seating arrangements.

Yay for having things completely backwards!

10. Literacy is everything for academic performance.

If students struggle reading and writing, everything else is a challenge.