Welcome To The Classroom

Dear New Teacher,

Congratulations for making a step into being a positive influence in the lives of young people. The teaching profession is an honorable profession, but is often a very thankless job. There will be times where you will feel overwhelmed, tired, and think you are not making a difference. Let me encourage you here – you ARE making a difference, whether you think so or not. I want to tell you that you can do this, that you will be great, but don’t expect to have everything figured out. For someone who is over ten years in, I still don’t have everything figured out. Every year I learn something new. I want to impart some words of wisdom and encouragement to you as you forge your new path as a teacher.

In the first week of school, don’t worry about the curriculum, the standards, or the textbooks. Get to know your students. Play games and have a good time. Invest in your class in that first week. Building relationships with your students is essential to having a well run, manageable classroom. The more you invest in your students, the easier it will be to have hard conversations with them. Relationships are essential in learning. Without them, students won’t care, because they will feel as though you don’t care about them. Some students will need more relationship than others. However, seek to know and build relationships with all of your students.

Give students buy-in. When it comes to setting classroom expectations, have a foundation that you want to build on, but give students a say as to what should be expected. You will be surprised to find that students will have higher expectations than you probably will. Use the ideas and thoughts from your students to shape a classroom that is specifically molded to fit your class. The same applies with assignments. Don’t be afraid to have a general idea of what you want from your students in an assignment, but give students a choice as to what they turn in. Give them the expectations that you have for the assignment, but explain that there are more than one way to meet those expectations. Giving students choice allows them to make their learning more personal.

Be firm but flexible. This is a tough one at times, and you will never be perfect at it. There will be days that you are way too firm. You will know because there will be a different feel in the classroom. There will also be days when you are too flexible. You will know these times because the students will want to take advantage of your flexibility. There is a careful balance between the two. You will also know the days when you have hit that balance. The classroom will run very smoothly, and you will end your day feeling accomplished. This takes time and practice. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right every time. Keep working at it and learn from your mistakes. After all, that is what you expect from your own students, right?

Don’t be afraid to admit your mistakes in front of your students. Vulnerability is huge in the classroom. When students see that their teacher is willing to be vulnerable with them, they will, in turn, be willing to be vulnerable with you. If you make a mistake in your teaching, your actions, or your words, be willing to apologize for your mistake. You are not perfect, and you will make mistakes. Don’t get embarrassed by them and don’t try to make excuses for them. Own them and show your class what it looks like to deal with mistakes properly. Be the example for your students. 

Never forget, your job is to teach students HOW to think and NOT what to think. Your personal opinions and ideologies do not belong in the classroom. You need to separate your personal life from your teaching life. As a teacher, you need to challenge students’ thinking and encourage critical thinking. This means you allow them the right to come up with their own ideas and opinions. This doesn’t mean you can’t challenge them in their personal opinions and ideas, it means that your opinions and ideas don’t matter. Provide resources and examples from a multitude of perspectives, not just the ones that fit your way of thinking. You don’t have to agree with your students, but you MUST allow students the opportunity to work through ideas on their own and build their own opinions.

This brings me to my next suggestion, stick to the academics. As a teacher, you will be expected to teach core content standards. Stick to those standards. Do not bring in political or social ideologies into the classroom that have nothing to do with your standards. Stick to the standards. Your job is not to encourage social change, your job is to help students build real world skills that will help them be successful beyond the classroom. Keep politics out of the classroom. It will save you a lot of heartache and frustration.

Connect what you are teaching to real world skills. When students are shown “why” what they are learning is important, they will be more keen to find value in what they are learning. There is an additional benefit to connecting real world skills to the content in the classroom. Connecting real world concepts in the classroom gives meaning to what is being taught. Instead of doing monotonous worksheets and models, connect students’ learning to real world concepts that they will experience beyond the classroom. 

Grow your craft, but don’t feel you need to do every pedagogy that comes your way. Stick with what you are good at. If it works for you and your students, keep doing it. During your profession, you will be bombarded with different ways of doing things in your classroom. They like to call it “Effective Teaching Strategies”. Here’s the reality, “Effective Teaching” is teaching that encourages critical thinking, problem solving, and real world connections. How you do this is up to you. You will find things that work for you, and you will find things that don’t make any sense. It’s okay to be unique and do what works best for you in your classroom. You may need to change strategies to fit what works for your classroom, but don’t think you need to do every new fad. Find what works for you and your students and do it.

Finally, find a mentor. Honestly, your school district should already do this for you, but if they do not, find someone in your building who is great at what they do and learn from them. Ask them questions. Watch their lessons. Observe what and how they do what they do. The best way to become better is to learn from those who are seasoned and invested in what they do. In other words, you won’t become a millionaire by listening to the advice of the middle class. You need to read and observe the actions and choices of millionaires to become one. Find a teacher who is respected and is known for doing great things and learn from them. If you are not sure how to do this, talk to your building administration or fellow teachers. A mentor is also good for bouncing ideas off of and sharing your struggles with. 

There is so much more I would like to tell you, but this is enough for your first year. You will have frustrating times, but don’t give up. You got into teaching for a reason. Expect from yourself what you expect from your students. Don’t give up. Meet hard times with perseverance and determination. Ask questions and know that you are not alone. You got this. I believe in you!

Sincerely,

A Fellow Teacher