Brent's NQT advice

Diary of a First Year Teacher: What's it Like to Be a First Year Teacher?

teachertoolbox:

What’s it Like to Be a First Year Teacher?

A colleague of mine is teaching a secondary social studies methods class at a local university this spring. He asked if I and another first year s.s. teacher would be willing to speak to his teacher candidates about what it’s like to be a first year teacher. Here’s what I know so far:

• Ask for help when you need it
• Do not isolate yourself in your classroom
• Get involved in your school! I coached 6th grade volleyball and ran the middle school dance and while it was overwhelming at times I am so happy I did it.
• Get to know your students as individuals - this makes ALL the difference
• You will make mistakes - learn from them and move on
• Do your best to involve parents and contact them with positive information about their students (not just concerns). Depending on the school you are at this might seem next to impossible and at times will be.
• Be responsive and communicate
• Sometimes a phone call is better than an email
• Don’t hide behind email as an excuse for not responding
• Create partnerships with your colleagues and borrow ideas and materials
• Don’t be a gossip 
• Heed other people’s advice but listen to your instincts
• Make time for yourself and those you care about outside of school - there will always be more work but you need to be able to go home and relax
• Listen to your students
• Don’t make assumptions
• Smile and laugh a lot - kids are funny! Being serious all the time is boring.
• Be who you are! It’s easy to want to emulate another teacher (and of course you can always learn something) but if it’s not who you are it’s not going to work. I worked with a teacher a few years back who did the “tough love” thing REALLY well. When I tried to do it I came off as a huge asshole. For me, it’s better to be more nurturing and sympathetic. I work better with students one-on-one when trying to accomplish something major.
• Don’t yell, even if you feel like yelling (who likes that?)
• It’s okay to cry - just try give yourself some privacy
• Don’t forget about all the things you learned in your teacher ed program! Reread books and review ideas if necessary. 
• Never quit learning
• Find an outlet… like Tumblr!
• Don’t vent to your significant other too much about your job - it’s not fair to them
• Don’t gossip - I’ll say it again because it’s so important. Teachers can be just like their students in this area and it’s damaging.
• Offer solutions when you’re frustrated with a situation, don’t simply complain
• Advocate for yourself and your students, chances are no one else will
• Apply for grants to get the materials you need to be a better teacher
• If you have curriculum you don’t love use it as a starting point to create something better
• Remember, the one doing the talking is doing the learning
• Have high expectations and hold students to them
• Be consistent!!! 
• Don’t be so hard on yourself
• Have fun!

Students/Parents/Veteran teachers - what advice do you have to add to the list?

More tips mentioned by others and a few more of my own:

• Get to know the facilities and main office staff - they make a lot happen in your building, more than you probably realize!
• Make yourself valuable to your school
• Be flexible - know when to ditch your plans
• If your students are really interested or invested in a concept it’s okay to spend more time in this area. Pacing be damned!
• Make your classroom a safe place for students to share ideas and opinions
• Establish a positive classroom culture - positive reinforcement is powerful and effective
• Take that sick day/personal day
• Don’t simply teach the same lesson over and over - adapt it to different students and classes. This will take some time, years even.
• Focus on the positive
• Finally, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” T. Roosevelt

Really helpful!

After discussing with a few friends about what 2012 will bring and talking about new year resolutions I realised that I do not really have a poignant target for this year. I have a ‘5 year plan’ but now I realised that I need to have something motivational to work towards for this year. So…I’m just going to keep writing some jibberish until I come up with something exciting to motivate me throughout the inevitable lows of this year-to-come. 

I haven’t really taken resolutions too seriously including previous targets such as: ‘stop biting my finger nails’; a somewhat ambiguous target of ‘to not miss my chances’ in love, leisure and life in general; to work out more…LOL; however my resolution from 2010, set during the Summer and which has been my most serious and conscientious resolution so far was to travel more and gain more life experiences (solidifying the ambiguity of a previous new year’s resolution). I had a fear that I would grow old without experiencing life to its full capacity, grow old without trying new traditions, food, cultures. Anyway, I don’t think that resolutions need to be set in stone and only created at the start of the year (and often disregarded in the months thereafter), as resolutions, if serious enough will be set at any time…

Nevertheless, I need a resolution that will be resolute. One which I will not fail and ignore. I need one which will be testing, yet achievable; a SMART target that will keep me enthused throughout the year.

I have thought of a few resolutions, but I think that I will need something that will help me achieve my wider goals set in my 5 year plan. I could, suggest a blatant resolution to ‘stop trying to write so eloquently’ as I’m not sure that my writing even makes any sense! I think that idea can probably wait for a few years, or maybe horse-shoed in in the latter months of this year if I’ve achieved my resolution earlier than expected.

Hmmm? Nope, still none-the-wiser about a resolution. Maybe ‘cut down on the procrastination’, a somewhat hypercritical suggestion but definitely noteworthy. I’ll bullet point a few ideas and see:

• Complete my NQT year- kinda goes without saying so probably need a more refined resolution to help me achieve that goal.
• Travel more- meh, could do, but that is in the 5 year plan so this is a year of saving up!
• Find romance- its a bit too needy for me. I could pursue online dating but I’m not that enthralled with chatting and flirting with a randomer online, when all I can see is one picture of their face at arms length from the camera…Bit dodgy. More chance of finding someone on Omegle… No.
• Read more- I tend to read more anyway now. I usually sneak in a cheeky chapter before bed, plus this isn’t relevant to my overall plan.
• I could revert back to the ambiguity of ‘not missing my chances’ or alter with a positive slant of ‘take my chances, be reckless; within reason obviously’.
• Buy more stylish clothes- No that is a poor resolution.
• Learn a new skill- has potential, definite potential. Salsa dancing? Roller-blading? Learn fluent French? Learn how to crochet? Interesting resolution but not entirely enthusing. 

I think that I have laid down some decent ideas but need more work to potentiate these ideas into something worthwhile. And hey, what’s wrong with finding a resolution later on in the year, yes it won’t be a ‘new year’s resolution’ but will most probably be something of more importance than a contracted, ill-thought resolution to start the year.

I’ve been reading a lot of motivational blogs and books recent and a lot of research for being and staying motivated is to have ambitions for the future, but also to write them down; somewhat like a tacit contract between myself and my written words. Anyway in the next 5 years this is what I would like to achieve:
•Continue to teach for a bit. I’m looking to teach for probably another year in the UK and then either go travelling or teach abroad.
•teach abroad- since I have been to Borneo I have a massive interest in experiencing other cultures, not in some poncy ‘gap yar’ way but in a genuine way to broaden my cultural horizons. So, teaching abroad; I hope to teach anywhere abroad really but would like to teach in parts of Africa such as Kenya, Ethiopia, anywhere that is available really. I’d also like to teach in America but I think that’ll probably be longer than 5 years time.
•travelling- as I wrote earlier, I want to carry on travelling and see the world. I’m not fussed about the general travel destinations like Vietnam, Thailand, Australia etc, as they seem fairly generic for travellers. I’m more interested in south America. Apparently it is can be more risky, but what is like without risk. So SA is my ideal destination. I want to see the main sights- Mayan temples, nazca lines, amazon, Rio carnival, Christ the redeemer (I think it’s called), maybe Easter island, and I’m sure that there are many other, more exciting-lesser known places that I’ll need to research. Hopefully I’ll be able to coax a few friends along as travelling is about not only experiences but being able to share them with others.
I also want to travel in North America. Hopefully with my bunch of mates, we can organise a road trip from New York to LA if we can compromise on dates and have sufficient funds to do it!
Finally I want to travel back to Borneo. I know I’ve already been there but there is so much more to experience including scuba diving. And it would have more sentimentality going back to my first travelling destination.

•at the moment however, I will be focussing on my career and becoming the best teacher that I can as I am always learning and reflecting on my abilities/ experiences to further excel my career.

This post is going to be a bit depressing and unnerving but will hopefully give you a heads up on how to prepare for your first day and how to prepare your behaviour management approach.

• You will arrive on your first day and not have a clue what to do. Obviously you’ll know how to teach and the basics but it’s the little things that you’ll need to pick up.
School routine, try to familiarise yourself with the school timetable although things are always changing and nothing is set in stone. Just remember the cliche ‘expect the unexpected’. If your new class seem pleasant then don’t be afraid to ask them about the school runnings; they’ll love to help out, especially for their new teacher whom they’re still trying to sum up.
• Sticking with the pupils theme… A lot of teachers say ‘don’t smile until Christmas’. To a certain extent, that’s true. Don’t be strict and horrible for the sake of it, have firm boundaries and stick to them. Of course you can have a laugh when it’s appropriate but remember that you are there to be their teacher, not their friend! Having a set routine and rules can be a pain to establish to begin with but it should pay off as the year progresses and you will then take your class’ exceptional behaviour and daily order for granted. Pub the work in now and it’ll be easier later on.

I am currently in my first teaching post as an NQT. I wasn’t really sure of what to expect except that I knew it would be intense, very intense. This blog and future blogs will just give an insight into being a proper teacher, as opposed to a student teacher. I’ll try to give as many tips for starting your first teaching post; pretty much the things that you weren’t told, ignored or had something more important to remember. The tips obviously won’t work for everyone but it’s just a heads up for those which need some reassurance before starting.

1. Having your first teaching post is nothing compared to your school placements. Obviously you’ll plan lessons, teach lessons, mark books (don’t get me started on marking books) and assessing pupils’ progress (app) as you would/ should on school practice. One thing that isn’t always taught is what to do with your classroom…
2. How to make your classroom your own.
As well as everything else you have to juggle as a teach, it is your responsibility (and help from TAs) to ensure that all displays/ working walls are set up ready for the first lesson; pretty daunting. Biggest tip is ASK FOR HELP IF YOU NEED IT. There should be someone around that is willing to give you a hand if you are out of ideas or out of time so just ask.
As a new teacher, you will hve to create most resources from scratch. But if you ask people- teachers, friends, family, friends’ families, then they may have something that is relevant for you and allows you to put your time and energy into something else.

3. Time management
Well I’m still getting to grips with that but I’ll help as best I can:
- My headteacher said to me, ‘if you’re not knackered at the end of each day, you’re not working hard enough’. That’s quite an ominous statement but true. There is always something to do so if you feel like to have free time…you’re forgotten something or procrastinating from what you need to do (as I am at the moment…maths planning can wait I suppose)
- when marking books, if you’re comment isn’t constructive to their learning, don’t write it down, you’re just wasting your time. Stars and a wish are always good but can be somewhat ambiguous in maths; I’ll discuss that later on.

So far I have had an awesome year. It been long, arduous and stressful at times but the highs of this year have been unimaginably better than last year. After entering my third year at uni (in 2010) I wanted to make the most of the free time and opportunities available to me. So, cutting a long year short, i went on 3 holidays- uni ski trip, lads weekend in brussels and finally an unbelievable 4 week in Borneo. Other achievements this year have been graduating from uni after an ineffably difficult couple of years with difficult school placements combined with family bereavements, getting a job in the career that I’ve trained for- first application and a job straight from it. And now, mostly settled but still a little out of my depth, have a duty to educate, motivate (and still at times procrastinate) a class of 30 children. I’m fortunate; I believe very lucky to be in the position I am now in, especially with my somewhat serendipitous journey to this point in my life. I like to write a few aims for the future, and my positive well-being after achieving my aims of last year has reinforced this reasoning. I am unsure of what I would like to achieve next year, in terms of personal aims. As a teacher I would obviously like to have a very successful NQT year with my class, school and colleagues. However, after 3 years of training to get to this point, I’m slightly stumped as to if I would prefer to continue this career. I understand that my first year is difficult and as I become wiser, more competent and have a better understanding of how to maintain a work/ lifestyle balance work will become easier to a certain extent. But I’m not sure if it’s for me. One of my aspirations is to teach abroad in parts of africa or wherever is available but teaching in England has lost its charm and sentimentality. I would like to continue travelling, although unsure where at the moment. I know that I would love to travel across north America from east to west, and I would also love to travel round south america and see things that I couldn’t dream of and gain experiences that would last me a lifetime. This plan is more likely to be over the next two years but I am motivated to make this a reality.