Truths About Your First Year Teaching

The first year is always the hardest. You’re getting used to new routines, new procedures, how to work with and deal with other adults, and how to be responsible for molding and guiding your students. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

It’s going to get harder before it gets easier.

There will be days where you wonder, “Why did I choose this as a profession?” You will feel swamped. You will be stressed. You will feel so tired.  But as you push through all the difficulties, your students will show you things that will amaze you, open your eyes, and teach you about life. Then you’ll get our answer. The answer of WHY you chose to be a teacher.

You’ll get to see the world through a different set of eyes.

It’s hard to truly understand our students and population we teach until we are with them on a daily basis. We get to see when something clicks and they get it, when they get frustrated, when they work through something on their own for the first time, and even when they get upset and throw furniture or hit us. All the things we experience on a daily basis with our students will allow us to see the world through a new lens. To be able to truly understand how our students perceive the world and take it in is a HUGE and amazing lesson. It not only teaches us how to approach and teach them, it also teaches us about life, about people, about compassion.

Planning, adapting, & developing special education materials/lessons is WORK.

One of the hardest things in the beginning of teaching is finding special education materials for your classroom to meet the specific needs of the learners you have. Even after you are used to adapting and making materials, it still is very time consuming. Try to work with your team and other teachers to develop something you can all use. No point in reinventing the wheel AGAIN. Also find resources that work for your team. There is so much out there on lesson planning, life skills curriculums, special education teaching materials and plans. Try to work smarter, not harder. It will help with your sanity!

You are not alone.

We have all been there. We know how hard the first year is. No matter what you will go through or how hard it gets, we’ve all be there. We understand. As teachers we have to support each other, that’s the only way we’ll make it. It’s really important to have a solid support system. Find your #teachingsquad, mentor, or friend who can walk with you through your teaching career. I know I would not have made it 12 years if it was not for the people who were around me, constantly supporting and guiding me when I needed it.