Surviving and thriving as a new teacher

Surviving and thriving as a new teacher

If you’ve recently started your first full-time teaching role as a new teacher, you’re no doubt wondering how you’re going to get through this first year. You’ve likely heard the first year will be tough and there will be a steep learning curve ahead; so just how can you not only survive the year, but thrive too!

Take a look at these tips we’ve collated to help you have a great first year in the classroom:

1. Build relationships

It’s really important that you involve yourself as part of the school community, and that means getting to know staff and learners across all levels. Building relationships with staff helps you build a network of people you know you can go to for support. It can sometimes feel like you’re meant to know how everything works, but as good as university is, it will never cover those sudden curveballs your pupils and school will throw at you. You should also remember that by actively seeking out support, you’re showing just how proactive you are. 

2. Plan lessons efficiently

Planning lessons may take you longer to begin with as you build your confidence in this area. However, it’s probably wise to follow the general rule that if it takes you longer to plan than to teach, you need to teach it differently! When creating a lesson plan, working backwards usually works for most people – create the main activities first, then work backwards to how you’ll get the students hooked and engaged at the start of the lesson.

3. Reflect on your lessons

It may feel like lessons come and go at lightning speed when it’s your first year of teaching, but try to take the time to reflect on your performance in lessons. You could go over the lesson in your head as you’re travelling home, or if you’d like a more formal review then why not ask a colleague to observe a lesson and offer feedback. You’ll be surrounded by a wealth of experience in the school and colleagues usually welcome sharing their experience. Another good tip is to observe others as much as possible, including those who teach other subjects; you’ll see how differently learners can react to other subjects and to different teaching styles.

4. Stay organised

Time management is really important; by organising your time both at school and at home, you’ll know when you’re going to get all those school jobs done. Creating planned times for specific tasks will help you to be more focused on the job at hand, and should help to save you time and keep you relatively stress-free.

5. Write down your vision for yourself as a teacher

There’s a reason you wanted to be a teacher, so what do you see as your goal now you are a teacher? Why not write down your personal vision of you as a teacher, this can help you focus when times get tough. It doesn’t need to be complicated or a piece of creative writing, and you don’t need to share it. Just hold on to it for you to reflect on when you need to.

6. Find and maintain a work-life balance

During the year you’ll encounter new stresses and lots of new germs, both of which can deplete your immune system. Therefore, it’s important to plan time in when you’ll see family and friends, when you’ll go to the gym or just relax and binge-watch Netflix. It’s all too easy to skip this “you time” and just get on with marking those books that you’ve got sat on your desk. Your first year of teaching will fly by and it’s normal for people to struggle with the balance, try not to worry too much if you don’t feel like you’re getting it spot on! Getting your teaching foundations right in the first year will give a stable footing to develop from throughout the rest of your teaching life. Remember, this first year is exactly that – just a year, and you will find your balance.

7. Celebrate your successes

This one is important as all too often we get hung up on everything we think “went wrong” or “was a failure”. So, write down all your successes no matter how small they may be; do this every day. Your list will soon grow across each term and by the end of the year you’ll have a wonderful list showing just what a great year you’ve had! 

Getting through your first year in the classroom can be tough, it can be both emotional and exhausting. However, you need to remember that this new career path you’ve set out on will also be extremely rewarding and fulfilling. Welcome to the start of a wonderful journey!