ALT-1 Surviving your first Year as a Teacher
Spring break of my first year teaching had me searching the want ads. I investigated other jobs I could do. I called to answer some ads. Then I realized...teaching wasn't a job. It was a calling. I got into teaching for more than a paycheck and the stress, long hours, and energy being expended would ease up. I didn't want another job. I wanted to be a teacher...and the fact that I'd considered leaving is a sign that I was a teacher.
Most teachers don't make it past the first 5 years of teaching. Even teachers who have been teaching decades probably contemplated leaving at some point. Ask them.
Those that do make it past year one will realize how lucky they were to have survived the beginning stage. It is a right of passage. Being a teacher is a lot like being a bottle of wine. (And, sometimes you are a bottle of "whine," depending on the time of year.) As with wine, it takes time to develop and mature. Being a teacher with nearly 10 years under my belt, I can look back on my early development and see the struggles for what they were. I can also look ahead to several more years of growth and change.
However, there is nothing like that first year to help you earn your stripes. It's something every teacher looks back on and smiles over. There are good moments and less good moments. For many new teachers, there are even bad moments. How you respond to the variety of experiences your first year can help determine if you'll be looking back on the first year the start or the end of a career.
Every veteran teacher has his or her own tips and tricks for getting through. There are so many time management techniques that are learned along the trenches that can enhance the minutia of teaching. Really, though, the best advice is to hold on, hang in there...trust that you can do it. Know you will make mistakes along the way. Be alright with continuing to learn while you teach. Expecting perfection will set you up for failure.
While you are hanging in there and holding on, though, it is important to form connections with other teachers...form a support group. I realized how isolating teaching can be around my third year. Sure, you're in a room full of people all day. You talk non-stop for a living. Yet, time with your colleagues and friends is important to savor. Grab a bottle of fine wine (or Two Buck Chuck) and invite your teacher friends over for some down time, at least once a month. Don't bring a teacher's manual or a grade book. Just hang out. Talk. Vent. Laugh. Cry.
Since teaching is more than a job, it holds true that teachers are more than just workers. It takes heart to teach. On a daily basis you are giving a piece of your soul to your students. You need to take the time to regenerate and refuel your soul. Do that with your colleagues because they understand your situation better than anyone else. (It will also keep your non-teacher friends and family from getting sick of hearing about school.)
As you make it through your first year of teaching, remember why you came to this profession in the first place. Keep tabs on what you like best and what you don't. This is a field with such variety, there are surely areas where you shine bright...even if there are areas that are still a bit dull. It's okay. You're human...well, you're superhuman, you're a teacher!
