Welcome to our newest cohort of teachers! As you embark on this incredible journey, know that you are stepping into a profession filled with challenges and immense rewards. Your first year will be a time of growth, learning, and discovery. We’ve put together some first year teacher advice from veteran teachers to help you navigate this exciting chapter:
1. Build Relationships
The teachers on your team, new and experienced, can offer valuable advice, share resources that will enhance your classroom, and provide emotional support. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or seek help when needed.
Outside your grade-level team, build relationships with all school staff, including custodians, cafeteria workers, and front desk personnel. These connections will be invaluable.
“Relationships are the foundation of everything in your first year. Genuinely getting to know anyone that steps into your classroom, whether it be another teacher, one of your student’s older siblings, the janitor, or the nurse. It’s the most time consuming part of being an educator your first year, but so worth it.” – Alyssa Gonzales, Assistant Director of Recruitment and Marketing and Former Teacher
2. First Impressions Matter
Creating a positive first impression with families sets the tone for a successful school year. Take time to introduce yourself early and ensure they know how to get in touch with you.
Encourage parents and family members to share their expectations and concerns for the school year with you.
Take a genuine interest in their child and show that you care about their child’s individual needs and progress.
Building a good rapport early on establishes trust and creates a supportive environment for their child’s education.
3. Embrace Your Losses
Understand that you won’t be able to do everything perfectly right away. Teaching is a journey of continuous improvement. Some lessons may not go as planned, and that’s okay.
Pause, reassess, and try again the next day. Each experience is an opportunity to learn and refine your approach.
4. Learning Should Be Fun
If the lesson is boring to you, it’ll be boring for your students. A great way to make learning enjoyable is by making the lessons relatable to your students.
Every lesson doesn’t have to involve games, prizes, or elaborate Pinterest crafts.
Simply revamping your lessons to resonate with your students’ lives and interests can make them more engaging.
5. Develop Your Own Teaching Style
You’ll hear a lot of different advice from different people, but every school, classroom, and teacher is different. What works for one teacher might not work for you, and that’s okay.
Learn what works best for you and your classroom by adapting teaching techniques to align with your strengths, personality, and the needs of your students.
6. Be Yourself
Our final piece of advice is to be yourself! Tierra Fowler, Assistant Director of the Black Educators Initiative and a former teacher says, “You don’t have to share the same background as your students, or have all the same interests as them, in order to teach and foster positive relationships. But you do need to be you.”
“My biggest piece of advice for first-year teachers is that you must show up as your authentic self every single day. Having taught elementary and middle school, I learned that kids are experts in knowing which adults are showing up as their real selves, and which ones are just playing a part.Allow your students to show up fully as themselves, and give yourself permission to do the same. Teaching is not always easy, but stay grounded in who you are and why you chose this path.” -Tierra Fowler, Assistant Director of BEI and Former Teacher
We hope this advice for new teachers helps you as you embark on your teaching career and become the effective teacher you were meant to be! Remember, every teacher was once a first year teacher. Embrace the journey, learn from every experience, and enjoy the rewarding career of shaping the next generation.
