Advice for New Teachers

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Congratulations! You’ve worked so hard and landed that dream teaching job. You may find yourself asking, now what? Read on for some advice I’ve collected over the years from teachers themselves to get your new career off to a great start.

Focus on Relationships

Relationships are the key to being a successful teacher. Start early. The sooner you make a positive connection with parents and students, the better off you will be. (Check out apps like Remind, Class Dojo, and Seesaw for easy ways to message parents.) Then stay connected with parents-even if they’ve been mean and rude. But also stand your ground and create boundaries with them. (I’m not kidding. I once had a parent think it was okay to text me through a school app at 2 a.m. to tell me her kid wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t be in the next day. Then she got mad because I didn’t text her right back.)

Love your kids! Stop what you’re doing each morning to greet them at the door as they arrive. Tell them goodbye each afternoon. Make a conscience effort to talk with every student every day. You may be the most stable thing in many of their lives. Develop the kind of relationship with them that they can come to you for anything.

Choose your self care and stick to it!

There will ALWAYS be more work than hours in the day. Accept this from day one, and be okay with it. Set a cut off time for emails and phone calls, grading, leaving school by a certain time, and so on. You don’t have to be working at home. They’re not paying you to do it. I know you want the absolute best for your students, but working all the time at home will wear on you. Don’t bring work home, and if you must, at least set a time that you stop once you’re home so you have some down time.

Identify your mentor teacher early on.

That person should be your rock. If they aren’t, tell your administrator and get another. My first year teaching, I vividly remember my mentor teacher telling me, “I don’t have time for this!” Not a good start, and not a way to make me feel like I can come to you with anything. I wish I had told my principal, but I was too nervous. Lesson learned.

Your mentor will be your person you can vent to, cry to, celebrate victories to, receive advice from, and bounce ideas off of. Finding that person early will give you peace of mind.

Learn what works for you and what doesn’t.

Your first year of teaching is all about learning what works for you as a teacher and what doesn’t. Don’t try to make every aspect of your day/routine perfect. You will become overwhelmed very quickly! You simply can’t focus on all the things from day 1. And don’t compare yourself to the teachers next door and across the hall. They have been doing this a long time and they were once first year teachers too. Reach out to them, learn from them, ask them for help, and use them to help you grow. There will be tough days, and there will be joyous day, but you will get through it all.

Have lots of patience, laughter, compassion, and a willingness to change when things aren’t working.

Have a good laugh with your kids every day. They need to see that you’re human, and it makes school so much more enjoyable for everyone. How you make them feel each day is just as important as what you teach them.

You’ll need lots of patience. It doesn’t matter if you’re teaching kindergarten or high school. Everyone is learning. Things you think should be common sense often aren’t. Be patient. And you won’t just need patience for the kids. You’ll need it for your co-workers as well.

You’ll need lots of compassion. You don’t know what your kids are going home to and dealing with, so before you’re quick to anger, pull them aside and find out what’s really going on. (And if you find they need some help establishing routines at home, look here and here for advice.)

And it’s totally okay to say, “You know what? This isn’t working.” and try something else. You don’t have to be stuck doing anything that doesn’t work for an entire year. You’re creative. You’ll come up with something new, and if not, ask those teachers next door. 😉 Trust me, most of us love to share.

Leave your life problems at the door.

Your class deserves all of your love and attention. Don’t take your personal issues out on them. It’s not fair. Love them, and love them hard. For some kids, you’re all they’ve got.

Be yourself!

These kids will remember you forever. Have fun, be yourself, and let the classroom be your mission field. The kids will look to you for so many things.

The rest will come.

Yes, I realize that I didn’t mention anything about curriculum, standards, or testing. All of that stuff will naturally happen. No one became an expert in a year. And you can’t pressure yourself to be either. There is nothing you can’t do. Above all, you’ve got this! So hang on and enjoy the ride.

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