This is directed toward you, First Year Teacher. I know you’re nervous. Have you had the dreams yet? You know, those back-to-school nightmares where you show up with no lesson plans or you get lost in your own school or you realize your wedding photographer posted your engagement video online and now all of your students have seen you kissing? (Oh, if only all of those were just dreams…)
But this entry is to let you know that no matter how bad it gets, no matter how embarrassed or frazzled or nervous you feel – you are not alone.
After all, you’re not the only one to…
- …write out and practice rehearsing a phone call to a parent
- …try and make your voice sound “older” for a phone call to a parent
- …just forget about the phone call to the parent and send an email instead
- …cringe when you play the Paleolithic Era video you found on the shared drive because you’re afraid the loin cloth isn’t going to cover enough
- …plan an all-star lesson and then find out the ______ (insert: copier, Smartboard, computers, network, printer, electricity in general) is not working and have to change plans
- …cry in front of students
- …snort while laughing in front of students
- …wonder if you’re taking someone’s seat in the workroom during lunch
- …”take” a test you made frantically the night before, only to realize that none of the questions make sense
- …have a colleague mistake you for a middle school student and demand a hall pass
- …create a jam in the copier when no one is around and wonder if you should leave and pretend it wasn’t you
- …lock yourself out of your classroom
- …misspell the word “Poetry” on a giant poster you created for your classroom and not realize it until students bring it to your attention weeks later
- …feel confident enough in the unit you’re introducing to decide to “wing” the next day’s lesson
- …curse the You-of-Yesterday for deciding to “wing” a lesson
- …completely change your procedures halfway through the year (or a week into the year)
- …answer a student’s question with “I don’t know”
- …fake confidence when answering a student’s question
- …make the mistake of assigning “dic” as a root word for high school students
- …send a misbehaving student in the hall and have them wait there to “think about what they’ve done” so in reality you can think about what to say
- …scream during a lesson because you saw a spider
- …rehash a class period you feel went awful all during lunch…and during the drive home…and at night….only to come in the next day to realize that everything is fine
- …pretend you know what an acronym stands for (And these don’t count the specific state ones…)
- …fill out evaluation questions with answers like “Because I am Awesome” and “I’m Fantastic” without realizing the answers will be turned in to your administrator for evidence
- …have a student start crying in front of you
- …have a student start crying because of you
- …completely forget about a meeting
- …not even finish explaining an idea that seemed so good during summer, but turned out to be way too complicated
- …wonder if you’re really cut out for this
- …save thank-you notes from students as proof that at the end of the day, you’re doing okay
I could go on and on with a list of mistakes I have made, lessons I have learned, and moments I have messed up. And I’d be willing to bet that those of you reading either have your own lists or will be in the process of creating your own list this year. And that is okay. Mistakes happen. Bad, frustrating, nothing-go-right days happen. And when they do laugh, breathe and let them go. And when a student thanks you feel the pride you deserve to feel, because with everything teachers have to get through, helping a student is no small feat. And at the end of the day it is those “thank yous” (not test scores or evaluations) that are the real indicators that you are doing a great job.
Creative Teacher's Classroom 