I was recently reminded that it has been over a decade since I graduated teaching. I’m what you would call “young-minded” and always conveniently forget that I’m not 24 anymore. You think for someone who is about to have her third baby (yahoo!) that I would have started realising my age. So, I’m starting to come to terms with it. I am not the new grad teacher I was. In fact, when I start to reflect on the New Grad I was, I have so many things to say to her. Here is a list of 6…because a list of 25+ would not make a good blog post.
1. Do not spend your summer holidays (your last ones as a uni student) laminating everything under the sun.
Yes, I did this. My nerd burger friend and I requested laminators as birthday presents and spent weeks laminating…what was wrong with me? Well, I think the “Pinterest teacher” had got to me. I thought the best thing a teacher could have were laminated displays. So in my quest for greatness EVERYTHING NEEDED TO BE LAMINATED. Did my classroom look great? You bet ya! Did it help me teach…um no.
2. Do not pre-plan your reading lessons 10 weeks in advance.
What term has ten weeks? Well, a lot. But 10 proper teaching weeks? One which doesn’t have assemblies, excursions, incursions, sports events, school celebrations and sickness…none! Not one! Also, what plan has ever gone to plan? Sure, New Grad Libby, go ahead and plan every tiny detail then do this…
Then you might realise that you are working with small people who are going to change and you need to plan for that!
3. The tiredness of the New Grad year doesn’t get better. But you learn to live with it.
Riddle: why does that teacher never book nights out on Friday? Answer: Because they are exhausted!
Teaching is hard work. You are mentally “on” all day. Before teaching I worked in admin. During the day I’d have downtime, I might check an email, go out to lunch or just sit back in my chair and not talk to anyone. That is not the life of a teacher. When you aren’t teaching a lesson you are assisting students, prompting students and checking in. You are always planning what you are going to do or say next. You are checking the time. You are supporting students emotionally and socially. You are communicating with peers, parents and administration. Sometimes you are doing this all at once. So it is tiring, accept that. Have an early night occasionally and be ok with it.
4. Connect with your colleagues
Don’t sit in your demountable and eat your lunch by yourself Libby Loner! Get to the staffroom, the after-work drinks or just crash a colleague’s classroom. The people you work with will be your lifeline. Don’t prioritise work over connection. Don’t ever be worried about asking for help. Always reach out and accept help.
Here is the best secret about teachers. They make the best colleagues and they will be your cheer squad throughout your career. They make or break the job. So connect with them. And if you find the ones you see daily aren’t “your people” go and find some other people. Join a professional organization (insert ALEA plug here) because other teachers are worth more than all the laminating pouches.
5. Teaching is 99% relationships and 1% education
When a kid is throwing a tantrum in the middle of the classroom (spoiler: it will happen several times this year). Don’t think, “Uh but my lesson plan was going to be so good!” Think about that child. Think about the rest of the students. Connect with them. Give them calm, give them support, give them what they need. Here is your permission slip to put relationships first. Even before the curriculum (shock horror!) It’s all well and good to have Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs imprinted on your brain but when you have to realise how very low down that hierarchy “learning about decimal places” is, it is humbling.
6. Remember you have lots to offer
You may feel like a newbie but you have info on the most up-to-date best practices and your colleagues won’t just listen politely when you speak up, they want to hear what you have to say. Share your ideas. It will surprise you how very much teachers love learning new things…or even being reminded about the things they forgot.
What else is there to add…oh, so much more. But for now, this “old” teacher needs to go to bed and get an early night.
P.S. For posterity, a photo from the last day of my undergrad degree…ready to tackle teaching (or so I thought).
We didn’t have Pinterest or laminators, iPads or used our mobile phones. We had one computer between 5 of us and one computer between 2 classes. We didn’t have TQI or standards. We didn’t have coaching and you naturally sought a mentor if you felt you needed one. We didn’t have SAS or Riskman or electronic rolls. We didn’t have the Australian Curriculum. We didn’t have beginning teacher release. We didn’t have planning days or report writing days. We didn’t have data to collect and be accountable for. We didn’t have PLTs but we still had teaching teams. We didn’t have executive to deal with parents or behaviour at the flick of a switch. We didn’t have student support meetings but we had Reading Recovery. We didn’t have emails to read and respond to, I can’t remember having an email account. We didn’t have Seesaw.
But we had fun and our kids learnt and I can’t find any data to suggest that results or quality of education were any less. Boy – we had fun.