Don’t get discouraged!
I had a very rough first year with a class filled with challenges. I felt like crying almost every day because of some incidents that would happen. Find someone who you can vent to at the end of the day (someone who doesn’t mind you sounding a bit like your whiny little friends that you are complaining about!). Once you get it all out, you can actually think about all the wonderful things that are happening too, and you will remember why you wanted to be a teacher in the first place! J
Enjoy every minute of it!
It goes by way to fast, and you want to remember the first year! Don’t sweat the small stuff – if you sit there agonizing over every little detail, you will miss all the other things that are going on in the classroom around you!
Document everything!
I took pictures like a mad-woman my first year, and I am so glad I did! I can look back and see my first babies, and funny thing is, you really only remember the good! The few “bad” things are actually ones to laugh about now! I wonder “Why did I ever think that was the end of the world?” I also have a file on my computer with the funny things kids would say to me throughout the year. It’s funny to sit back and remember these funny things once in a while when you are feeling a bit discouraged!
Learn from the kids!
Take the time to actually learn from your students. They have so much to offer, and can help you learn not only about student learning habits, but they can actually teach you about yourself!
Make friends with you colleagues!
My first year I was very intimidated and I didn’t feel like I was an equal to all the other teachers who had been teaching for years. I was so wrong! My colleagues truly valued my opinion, and made sure that I felt I was one of the team. My grade level quickly became my good friends, and I don’t know what I would do without them! We go hang out in each other’s rooms when we need a few minutes out of our own rooms. In the mornings when the kids are coming in, and after dismissal, we would all stand in the hallway talking, about anything BUT school! Sometimes you need a break, and that’s ok!
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+ Laura +
TOTALLY!! I wish I took as many pictures now as I did back then! I think I'll have to start that again.
ReplyDeleteTeresa
http://thevogelgesangsteaching.blogspot.com/
Great advice! I should have out the be friends with your colleagues on my list, too. It makes all the difference in the world to have friends at work. Some of my now best friends are coworkers!
ReplyDeleteLearn from the kids! soooooo true..great advice.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add take pictures to my list. So fun to look back at what you've done and the students that you have taught, I still have pictures of my first class and classroom 16 years ago!
I am so horrible at documenting. I had to make myself a notebook just for this purpose this year! =) It's on my "To Improve," list.
ReplyDelete