It was quite an awakening when I realized it doesn’t work out that way — especially the amount of student work that actually gets turned in. No program can prepare you for the amount of chasing after assignments to make sure a student passes, calming irate parents, or what working with administration really looks like. I firmly believe that all teacher preparation programs should include mock lessons where no one is involved and there’s a wild chicken running around while you’re trying to teach. Much more accurate. I will say that eventually, you do start to get the hang of it, but I do wish I had a more realistic idea of what juggling the non-instruction parts of the job would be like. Before you come at me with digital this and digital that — young kids can’t learn to write on a Chromebook. You want to get a gift for a teacher that they’ll love and cherish? Get them a ream of paper and a bottle of hand sanitizer. One of the greatest teachers I ever had didn’t care what her students thought of her, and we all knew it…and we were desperate for her to like us. I didn’t realize how much just expecting all students to put in some effort was what made me respect her until several years into my own teaching career. It’s okay to be a little lame — embrace it. You will create strong bonds with many students by being your authentic self, and you’re going to save yourself a lot of stress by not pretending to be anything. Instead, plan lessons around the skills they need to achieve. Yes, you can talk about the reading they didn’t do, you can work off of the homework, but if the lesson for the day can only function if the students completed an assignment at home, it’s just probably not a good lesson. Remember that a good teacher facilitates learning, so plan lessons that allow students to work together and have a few different ways of covering the material. My students have told me each year how much they appreciated knowing exactly what I was having them work toward. Don’t let your lessons be a mystery. The pressure from some parents and guardians is something I really wish I would have understood more upfront. Some will bypass communication with you and go straight to administration with an issue — and the resulting pressure from administration can be intense. Even after numerous opportunities to do the work, contact that was met with silence, and weeks of zeroes in the grade book, if a student is now risking not graduating or getting benched on a sports team, you may be asked to make generous exceptions to department policies. It can be a frustrating part of the job, especially when you tried so hard not to get to that point and in standing your ground. My best advice is to document, document, document. Every call, every email, every reminder — write it down to show how you worked to allow opportunities for success before it escalated. Even if you are asked to make those exceptions, you can at least cover your rear and prove that you did your best to avoid the escalation. On that note, the teacher break room can be a supportive place or a negative one. If it’s full of toxic energy, there’s no reason to mingle there. Surround yourself with positive influences you can vent with without losing complete hope in the system. Furthermore, teachers who only work contract hours are NOT the enemy. I remember being a new teacher and thinking that the teachers who showed up right when they were contracted to and left immediately when those hours were over must be lazy. I know now that I was pitifully self-righteous, and those teachers had amazing work-life balance, got their grading done, were less stressed, and had great home lives. I’m not 100% sure how they did it as I still struggle through boundaries, but ask them how they do it! That being said, there are some teachers out there that really shouldn’t be doing the job (read: the teacher at my elementary school who threw a stapler at a kid). Feel free to take mental notes on why, and do the opposite. If you find yourself needing to create a new unit from scratch, see if there is someone on your team that wants to work together on it. Not only does it save you both time, but the variety of lessons is going to benefit everyone. I don’t think I fully understood this until I had kids, and I watched my daughter feel like the world was so big, and she was so small in it. I also remember having a bully in sixth grade who made the last few weeks of school hell. Sure, it doesn’t consume my every waking thought now, but it sure did then. Kids have bullies, complicated home lives, go through breakups, and have friend drama they haven’t experienced before. Being young is hard, so remember that as you’re working with your students. That being said, these kids have stories and a lot to offer in terms of worldviews, and it’s important to really listen to them. Don’t take yourself too seriously, have fun, and open your mind to learn. It also takes awhile to become a good teacher — and I mean this with all of the support in the world. I’m not saying you’re going to be useless the first few years, but you’re not going to be perfect. The teacher I am now and the teacher I was my first year are lightyears apart. I’ve loosened up, gained confidence, found my strengths, and have found empathy that there is very little space for when you’re just trying to keep your head above water. It’s OK to have days where you aren’t a great teacher. It’s OK to have off days in your home life. Life is a balancing act, and we’re looking for a strong average, not perfection. If you do find yourself wondering where your passion went, teaching also gives you amazing skills that transfer to so many industries. To me, teaching will never be a waste, and the bonds you make with students and the ability to help them become well-rounded adults are an absolute privilege.
