teacher advice

I am starting my sixth year teaching. That's not many years, but it seems like a lot at the moment. If I could go back and change the teacher orientation speech that I was given, here's some points to include:

  • Every year is the exception. My first year was difficult only because it was my first year and I was building curriculum and learning classroom management. My second year was difficult - but only because we changed gradebook platforms, moved all of our assessments digitally, and because I had to fill in for the teacher next door who was on maternity leave. My third year was also difficult, but that was only because we changed assessment platforms and Covid hit that spring so we were digital. My fourth year was difficult, but that was during a pandemic and we were hybrid digital/in-person and that's not likely to happen again, so a different school year would be easier. My fifth year was difficult too, but that's because we changed assessment platforms (again), kids were learning what it was like to return to school, and we had a new administrator over our department. Now this is my sixth year, and it is being unusually difficult, but only because we are changing assessment platforms (AGAIN), changing discipline systems, I am teaching a new class so I need to create some curriculum, and we lost a teacher and can't replace them so class sizes have hit the 40's. But these are all unusual circumstances, specific to this year. They assure me that next year will be easier. It won't.

  • Everyone always thinks their meetings are too important for you to miss. My administrators currently love the platitude: "You are a juggler and some balls are glass and others plastic. Learn which ones you can drop and which ones to always catch." This is a load of garbage. I have a weekly duty station and it doesn't matter what I have going on, I am expected to be there. We have monthly professional developments, and it doesn't matter if I am caught up on grading, I am expected to attend because we have a set number of hours of PD, so if I don't go to the meeting I have to make it up anyway, so just go the first time. We have a weekly meeting with either the course team, the department, or the faculty. It doesn't matter if the activity for tomorrow morning at 7am is ready to go, I am expected to attend the super important meeting and there will be a sign-in and if I do not attend, someone will be reaching out. If I go to them to let them know I will not be in attendance, I get a 15 minute speech about how important the meeting is and why I should attend. But I also get a weekly email reminding me to catch up on all grading every week, send out weekly progress reports and newsletters, call parents, proctor tests that do not relate to my courses and fill-in for absent teachers because there are not enough subs. All of those things must be done. So when do I get to use my planning period to plan for my classes, if all of the balls are glass? It hardly seems right that my lessons are the only plastic ball. 

  • Just close your door and teach. Many veteran teachers say to just "smile and nod" during all the super important meetings, with all the changes and requirements. And then just go back to your classroom, close your door, and teach however you see fit. Grade however you want to grade, just keep your head down and stay under the radar. When I started teaching, I was a much larger advocate for being a team player. Not as much anymore. Just closing my door and teaching is becoming more common. 

  • Make the job sustainable. This job will guilt trip you into working a million hours - after all, it's for the kids! Figure out what you need for the job to be sustainable, even if it means dropping glass balls. If you aren't ready for your next class period, then do not go to the meeting, do not go to the duty station, or do not leave your classroom. If you do not enjoy going to school sports, if your time does not allow for extra chaperoning duties or duties on the weekends, if you can't afford to spend money on things for your classroom - then don't do it and don't go. If your requirements for sustainability do not align with their expectations for teachers, then it wasn't going to work out anyway. It's easier to give more of yourself later, than remove yourself when you realize you've given too much. 


That is all for now. If I think of more, I will tack it on. 

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