Hi everyone!
I decided to post an article which lists advice for first year teachers given by other teachers already in the field. As we finish up our final months interning and student teaching, I'm sure many of us are feeling excited and anxious for our own classrooms! I enjoyed how this article focuses on how we can truly impact our students by being present and mindful. It encourages us to pace ourselves and to not worry about making mistakes, which will inevitably happen anyway!
Link: https://www.readinghorizons.com/blog/post/2010/08/16/9-tips-for-first-year-teachers
Kaitlin, this was perfect! How helpful for us as first year teachers. I'm sure you are all just as anxious as I am to be done with this program and in our OWN classrooms! This site had so many important messages for us to keep in mind. The one that really hit home for me was "be patient with yourself." As interns and as new teachers, I feel like we all feel this pressure to be great and prove ourselves to everyone else, but inevitably, we will make mistakes and it's okay! We are all here to learn and in our profession, we won't ever stop learning new ways to reach our vastly different students.
ReplyDeleteThis is so great, Kate! I loved reading all the different tips & tricks from the many different teachers, each tip was so helpful to read. These messages were so interesting because each teacher found something different and important to tell new teachers, and all of them are so helpful for forming our own classrooms! I loved this quote, and the message that it portrayed: "Kids won’t remember the bulletin boards or the lessons you taught. They’ll remember how you made them feel! Make them feel safe, loved and that your classroom is their classroom as well." As we learned throughout many of our classes, is it is so important to make students feel welcomed and loved within the classroom in order for them to thrive. I will definitely be bookmarking this to save for later, to re-read when we are first year teachers!
ReplyDeleteThis article is so great! I think all of these tips and tricks are things that as future teachers we worry about so much. It's reassuring to know that all teachers have the same worries and doubts that I sometimes have. I really like the idea that our first year of teaching is like a marathon. We do need to pace ourselves, and I think that it's important to accept the fact that we will make mistakes. I have such high expectations for myself, but I know that when I do make mistakes, I'll learn from them. Each new year will be an opportunity to do things better, but the most important thing to remember is to make our students feel safe, loved, and truly cared for.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting this! So often I find lists like this that are created by people who have never been in the classroom. You can tell right away that they have no idea what they are talking about and all their "theories" of what to look out for and what should happen are not logical. I feel like these tips were completely relatable and a lot of them were things that I do find myself thinking about for my first year teaching. This article will definitely be bookmarked on my browser. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading all of these. My favorite was "don't be afraid to make mistakes in front of the students." It is so important to still be you! The students need to know you're human just like them... we all make mistakes. I've mentioned in other class discussion boards how I've used my own mistakes as teachable moments. This link was also a "it's going to be okay" reminder for me. I'm glad you shared this!
ReplyDeleteKate, all of these are amazing! I think each of these quotes is such a great reminder for us as new teachers. I really like "set a time to leave and do it" quote. After the last two years of our lives being consumed of internships, and classes we deserve to be able to go home and no worry about having to bring work home with us! I do feel emotionally our connections with our students will always be with us but planning/scheduling and reading/replying to school emails should be left for school hours!
ReplyDeleteNice article. Think it really goes to show that everyone seems to share a cautious optimism and nervous excitement when starting off. If I'd add one thing though, it'd be setting realistic expectations of yourself. The world isn't going to change overnight, nor are we expected to save it. But even reaching a single student and making a substantial difference in their life - even unrelated to school, makes the job worth doing.
ReplyDeleteI bookmarked this article to have for future reference next year! Thanks for sharing, Kate! I agree with Sean, that being realistic, setting realistic expectations for ourselves, and knowing those bad days are going to happen is also important to remember. I particularly liked the quotes stating that it is okay to ask for help from other teachers. Many times I feel like this profession can feel like a "competition" where teachers do not want to ask for help in fear they are looked at as an unfit teacher. This is just the opposite as we should learn from each other and should ask for help, like the quote says, so we don't "look like a fool later on..."!
ReplyDeleteI also bookmarked this article to have as a future reference next year! This article is extremely inspiring and definitely relieves some of the stress and anxiety that I have about having my own classroom. As a new teacher, there are so many questions we are going to have, so it is extremely helpful to have this little guide and to know it is okay to not have all the answers just yet! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete