Your first year out of your teaching degree is one of the hardest that you will do. You are new, and you still have a lot to learn. You are hesitant and not wanting to stuff it up. I’ve been there this year and these are my top tips.
Coffee in the AM and your beverage of choice in the PM.
There are some days where you will only be able to function on caffeine in the morning and will then need to have a beverage at night (AKA a glass of wine or an aperitif). You will need the fortification to get through the day and to get through the marking at night.
Prepare, prepare, prepare
Make sure you are prepared, with Plan A, B, and C. And for good measure, add Plan D in there too. Be prepared for a black out or a kid telling you to “f**k off”, or for some students to start bawling or a fight. Be prepared for students who are Autistic, for those who have ADHD, dyslexia, anxiety, depression. You will face all of this and more during your first few years and at times you will have no idea what to do. Hence, prepare, prepare, prepare.
(Unless you have a worldwide pandemic. Nothing prepares you for that!)
Learn from your co-workers
Your co-workers are your greatest allies – unless you severely piss them off (which I don’t recommend). Share resources and take what you can from them. You will be able to learn a lot from them and be able to adapt their resources. You can also look at their professional practice and learn a lot from it. You can decide what you will borrow and what you won’t.
Fake it until you make it
Confidence, people, confidence. Some of us have it, others have to work for it. If you don’t feel confident, don’t let it show. The more you ‘fake it’ the more confident you will begin to feel until it becomes natural. And the best part? The students you have won’t know.
These are my top 4 tips, but at the end of the day; you do you. You follow what you think is right and what you think is going to help you create your career. Ultimately, you are in charge of your own destiny.