Advice to a first year teacher

 

by wayne osborn

 

 

 

                My greatest surprise as a first year teacher was the immense power I had to change the lives of the students and parents whom I interacted with.  I found that as a teacher, I had the ability to make a significant difference.  There were many days where I felt that I had said or done something to make somebody’s life a little better.  Not just the students lives, either.  As a  resource teacher for my first half year of teaching, I had the opportunity to meet with many parents.  I learned quickly that often, parents of special education students are not confident of their child’s abilities.  It’s really no wonder, since the probability is very high that their son or daughter’s grades in a regular education classroom are relatively low.  The school is in essence telling them that their child needs to be “fixed”…there is a learning disability, etc.  I found that by talking candidly with the parents, I could reassure them that their child was going to make better progress academically and socially if they work with me.  Together, we could work to improve their child’s chances for success by focusing on strengths, not weaknesses.  I think that after many  I.E.P. (Individual Educational Plan) meetings, parents left feeling better about their children, if not themselves.  That’s a powerful feeling, one that I rarely experienced in the business world.

 

                In college I learned a lot about how to plan a successful lesson.  I didn’t learn too much about what to do when a student tearfully explains that the reason they didn’t get their homework done is because their electricity has been turned off.   An educational methods course can teach you how to plan instruction, but it can’t teach you how to care.  During my first year of teaching, I have learned that what may seem an insignificant event or interaction could mean the world to a student.  I have learned to see things from a different perspective, to really listen to what students are saying.  I have learned to be flexible, that even the best laid plans are meant to be changed.  Every day that I teach, I realize even more that there’s a lot that I don’t know.  My thirst for learning is far from being quenched. 

 

                My advice for future first year teachers?  Be ready to work very hard.  I can remember many, many twelve hour days.  I still  have twelve hour days!  Have high expectations for yourself, and equally high expectations for your students, but realize that teaching the academic subjects is not the only reason you are there.  Besides teaching your students, you must also be a role model, a counselor, a good listener, a caring person…a friend.  Know that, while some parents tend to focus on their child’s weaknesses, as a teacher you will get a lot more mileage if you can build on your student’s strengths instead.  Seek knowledge and advice from your fellow teachers, for they are a wonderful resource.  Don’t even begin to think you know it all, because you don’t…and it’s okay!  If you really love kids, and you really want to make a positive difference in the world, then this is the job for you.