"Teenagers scare the living s**** out of me. They could care less as long as someone'll bleed..." - My Chemical Romance
And so my first year of teaching has come to a close. I did not think I would say this but I am now looking forward to school again, to meeting all the new students and their unique personalities and quirks. This is, of course, a very different feeling from the one I had on the last day of school, when I could not wait to break free from the confines of my classroom. But now I miss it and am ready to do it again.
My year began with the naiveté of thinking that students would simply absorb my love for the content I was teaching, and would be so in love with Theology (and why wouldn't they be?) that I would never have classroom management issues or students simply being mean for the fun of it. I was wrong (surprise, surprise) as there is a lot more technique to teaching than simply knowing your stuff. So here are some thoughts from my first year of teaching:
1. You will fall in love with some students (not in a creepy way).
I found that so many students required very little incentive to do their job. They went above and beyond, never made excuses, always asked clarifying questions if they were unsure and were just a pleasure to have in class. During the really tough stretches of teaching, thinking about how committed these students were to doing well and to learning kept me from despairing and thinking all I was doing was pointless. I think I will always remember these students and will certainly miss them!
2. Some students really could not care less (see lyrics at the top).
Talking to a more experienced teacher friend, we agreed there are a three types of high school students: the brilliant A student who works so hard, the student who struggles, doesn't always complete assignments and lacks motivation but has a heart of gold, and the jerk who comes in late only to disrupt class.
Because I suspect most teachers were also good students (I could be totally wrong), we have come to expect that by doing xy and z, we will get results x, y and z. That wasn't always the case for me this year. Sometimes your hard work simply doesn't yield the results you dream of. This is specially true for dealing with students who are checked out. I doesn't matter how many conversations are had and how many times after-school help is offered, your students are people endowed with free will (Theology term!) and they are ultimately free to choose what is beneficial to them (or to reject it).
One thing that helped me in working with students who either did not seem to care or seemed to be out to get me, was to deal with issues early (I wish I knew this in September!). Whether it's pulling the student aside for a talk or contacting a parent, it is best to not allow problems to grow.
3. Ask for help!
One of the most helpful things this year was the guidance of an instructional coach. I was lucky that my friend Lauren Lyman from Aquinas Education was willing to come in once a week for two or three months to mentor me. Her coaching was life-changing! From simple strategies such as setting up my classroom differently, to dealing with tricky behavioral issues, her feedback was invaluable and I now feel much more confident going into my second year!
While the services of an instructional coach may be costly (I was lucky to receive it for free), many schools provide mentorship for new teachers. If not, I wouldn't be afraid to simply ask a department chair or a colleague to drop in to your classroom every once in a while for some non-evaluative feedback. I am grateful that the school I will begin teaching at this year has a mentorship program in which new teachers regularly meet with and are coached by veteran teachers.
4. Organization will save your life.
This is one area in which I excelled this year (I knew there had to be one!) Staying on top of grading gave me a sense that I was staying afloat (even when I was not). I can say the same for carrying around a clipboard to check off work as it was turned in and posting very clear and accurate summaries of each day on the online portal. While some students would still ask: "Did I miss something yesterday?", being able to refer them to the portal saved me some valuable time. This also helps when communicating with parents. And on that topic...
5. COMMUNICATE WITH PARENTS.
As a young teacher, I often felt intimidated by parents (imposter syndrome wicked bad). But I found that problems could often be avoided by simply giving a parent a heads up on their child's behavior. This is not only their right as their children's first educators but it creates a more collaborative relationship. We are all on the same team, after all, even when it doesn't feel that way.
6. Fake it 'till you make it.
So much of life is about showing up and looking ready, isn't it? The one gift I would like to have given myself back in the fall was the gift of confidence, of realizing that I knew my stuff (or at least knew more than the students) and was ready to teach it. Since I struggle with the confidence piece sometimes, and teaching is often a learn-as-you go deal, I need to be okay with not knowing everything but at least trying to appear as I do.
I'm not sure if this helps, but I certainly wish I had known this stuff before my first year of teaching. Which by the way, is the hardest profession ever, am I right?
