Now before I get to the three things I learned I want to start by saying my first year teaching was ROUGH, to put it mildly. I came home the first-day bawling and it didn’t get much better after that. With a class full of 25 second graders and in a state far from my midwest roots. (Yay military life) I wanted to quit.

Every single day I got up and had to tell myself you have to go… it will destroy your future if your resume shows you quitting your first teaching job. I wondered how in the world does anyone keep teaching if this is the job?! Between the constant grading expectations, pacing guide, having only 5 of my 25 students on grade level, and a VERY difficult (who would have had a personal para where I was from). Every aspect of this type of teaching was foreign to me. This wasn’t like the school system I was raised in. Classrooms where I learned from had support from paras, didn’t have 5 tests a week for elementary students, and didn’t give out Fs to 2nd graders. I had never felt so defeated in my whole life.

My only saving grace was from the support of my grade level team and the administration.  Every day though, I convinced myself to drive to that school and make it through another day. Don’t get me wrong, I loved those kids but it was a huge learning experience for me. Also, my second year of teaching was absolutely phenomenal (in a new school/state.. again yay military life). So know it can get better if you’re having a rough first year too. As I said I learned a lot that year but here were my three biggest takeaways.

1. No amount of curriculum will teach behavior.

I always felt soooo rushed to get through everything to try to stay with the district’s pacing guide that I never fully took the time to continually reteach behavior expectations. After reflecting on my first year, I realized how important it was to take the 5 minutes out of the curriculum to reteach a behavior that was showing it needed to be fixed. It makes SUCH a difference in the long run! Give yourself the grace to stop the curriculum and teach your expectations.

2. Keeping your cool helps them keep their cool.

Now, as I said I had never felt so defeated as I did during my first year teaching and with that came high-stress emotions. I fought back tears in front of my students and yelled at the class a handful of times as well. Neither of these I was proud of and I know they did not benefit my classroom in any way. I don’t say this to make you feel guilty if you’ve done them because I’m right there with you (along with almost every other teacher I’m sure). I’ve just found that personally staying calm has helped my whole classroom environment stay calm.

3. Being the last car in the parking lot doesn’t help you or your students.

This is a BIG one. I was at the school for 10-12 hours a day every day for my first year. Then, I would work at least 10 hours on the weekends. The to-do list was never-ending and I felt like I had to work that much to keep my head above water. PLEASE listen to me on this one though, the to-do list will always be there as a teacher. So leave school and TAKE CARE OF YOU! You will be more energized and your students will learn more from a teacher who is happy and healthy both physically and mentally. You can’t give when there’s nothing left.

So if you’re really feeling that overwhelmed with your to-do list take one day a week where you stay late and do a portion of it. I find it easiest to just get everything set for the next week and be done. Go home! Work out, watch Netflix, cook, or do whatever you need to take care of yourself. It will pay off in the long run for both you and your students.

If you’re a first-year teacher reading this I hope you found it helpful and that your year goes as smoothly as possible for you. Let me know what you’ve learned along the way!

Keep creating your own sunshine,
Ally