20 Lessons from My First Year Teaching

In January I started my first real teaching job. I was a broadcast journalism/media teacher at a high school this past spring semester and my students ranged from freshman to seniors. In my short, but long first 5 months of teaching I learned A LOT! So before I forget I thought I would share 20 lessons from my first teaching job.

1. You really do have to be mean starting out. I do wish I had started out being meaner, stricter, and not as friendly with my classes. I know my students wouldn’t have gotten away with as much if I had been meaner from the start.

2.It’s so much more than lesson planning, teaching, and grading. Teachers deal with lots of other stuff like paperwork, meetings, parents, extracurricular, etc.

3.You will feel like you suck and aren’t good enough. But have grace with yourself. You’re not going to get it right or be perfect the first time. Remember that there is always next year to do things better.

4.You need a support system. Make friends with the teachers in your hall. They will likely be the only adults you see in a day filled with over a hundred 14-18 year olds. For me I have a very supportive family, boyfriend, and friends who I knew were there when I needed a boost of encouragement.

5. Even if you are in the 20s you will find you are behind on social media. Your students will do things on Twitter/Instagram that you haven’t even heard of yet. And they are on it ALL THE TIME.

6.You will be up to date on phrases/styles/music. Phrases such as “Her eyebrows are on fleek today” or “Running through the 6th with my woes” were said multiple times. I saw way to many stomachs due to girls wearing crop tops. “Elastic Heart” by Sia was played repeatedly for weeks.

7. Get involved. Help out with other school events. You’ll get to know other teachers and students and you’ll have a better idea of what goes on at the school. Spending time with students outside of school hours at school events really helps in forming relationships with them. 

8.You can’t please everyone. My position had my students producing a weekly show that the entire school watched. Of course we didn’t get everything right or everything covered so that equals unhappy people. And that is just fine.

9. You will be heartbroken at some of the lives of your students. Lots of my students came from broken homes. I heard a lot about drug use and alcohol and bad relationships. It wasn’t always easy hearing these things, but it motivated me to be a light in their lives even if I only saw them 3 times a week for an hour and a half.

10. You will have bad days. Just accept it and try your best not to take it out on your students.

11. You will have students you love and students who you look forward to reading their suspension notice. The students you love will be the ones you depend on. They will be the ones who you form the best relationships with and you’ll look forward to their class period.

12. Caring and kindness go a long way. Simply showing your students that you care about what is going on in their lives outside of school is a big deal. Not all students have people in their life who truly care. Kind words and actions aren’t always commonly seen by your students and will be noticed.

13. Don’t reinvent the wheel for lessons. Use online resources. Use the veteran teacher down the hall. You will kill yourself by trying to develop new lesson plans. I am so thankful for people who post resources online. They were my lifeline.

14. Your to-do list will never end and you will never be caught up. I had to accept that some things would just have to wait until the next day.

15. You will get asked weird questions on a daily basis and hear weird conversations. “Ms. S. do you do drugs?” “Have you ever…” I got asked ridiculous questions daily and I cannot even begin to explain the weirdness of conversations between students I overheard.

16. It’s not an 8:00 am to 3:30 pm job. If you’re already in the teaching field or going into it then you will know this. Expect to arrive at school early or to stay late to get everything done. I would always stay late at school so that when I went home I didn’t have to work on school stuff.

17. Dress professionally. The teachers at my school dressed very casual. I was used to dressing professionally so I continued to do so. I realized it was necessary of me to dress professional so my students and even teachers would see me as a teacher. It definitely made me feel like a professional too.

18. As many times as you may get told and mistaken for being a student, take it as a compliment. Someday you will no longer blend in. 

19. If you are on social media your students will find you, long before you even think about it. They will send you requests and ask you questions about your life based on your Instagram photos.

20. Teaching will change your life. My students changed my life for the better and brought me so much joy and laughter. Teaching pushed me hard, but I have come out a better, stronger, and wiser person due to it.

Though I am sad that I won’t be returning to teach in the fall, I am beyond grateful for the time I had in the classroom. I learned so many things and made tons of memories that I will never forget. Being a first year teacher is hard and exhausting, but so worth it. Teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs one could ever have and that is one of the main reasons why I could return to teaching in the future. I’m realizing now as I finish this up that there are some lessons I’ve left out and I’m sure more will surface as I go on, so maybe another post will be due in the future.  

What are some lessons you have learned from your first real job?

Any teachers with lessons you’ve learned?