Howdy Peeps!
An amazing colleague of mine at my new job is an admin on a Facebook group for trainee/new teachers… he wrote this beautiful post that explains exactly how every teacher feels; I just had to share because it’s perfect (I have his permission of course).
Post was: “Best of luck to everyone starting their training this week! 😊👍🏻
It’s going to be a life-changing year! You won’t end this year the same person you are now. You’ll be stronger. You’ll be more resilient. You’ll have little tricks up your sleeve for when lessons aren’t going quite to plan. You’ll know how to tackle disruption, how to console, encourage, and elevate students. In 10 months time, you won’t believe how far you’ve come.
Remember: lessons will go wrong, you’ll run out of time, you’ll find your activities ending 20 minutes before the bell and you’ll have to think of something to fill the time, you’ll arrive at school and realise you didn’t put your lesson PowerPoints on your memory stick, or the handouts in your bag, you’ll remember it’s your class assembly that week and have to pluck something out of thin air, you’ll forget children’s names at parents evening, you’ll mark homework and give two different kids different marks for the same answer and have to explain it when they call you out on it, you’ll cover the wrong material, or draw a total blank when a kid asks you a question, you’ll lie awake at night worrying about a tricky class…
You’ll do all those things, to one degree or another. I know I did.
But…you’ll get through it. You’ll survive. After every difficult lesson, you’ll emerge a better teacher. Every single student you teach will have their lives changed by you. Some will find inspiration in you. Others will find the comfort and security in you that they don’t get at home. Some will be having a difficult day and will have their day brightened in ways you can’t imagine by that silly joke you told. You’ll be someone’s favourite teacher. Someone will look forward to your lesson all day long, and be sad when the bell goes. You’re going to make a difference to these kids in ways you can’t grasp now. What you’re about to embark on is life-changing – and it’s not just YOUR life you’re changing.
You’re going to have an absolute blast. It is the best decision you’ve ever made, and it’s the most fun you’ll ever have.
I’m starting a new teaching role tomorrow. Am I nervous? You bet! Am I losing sleep? Absolutely. Do I feel like I’ve forgotten how to teach? Of course! Am I getting that imposter syndrome all over again? Ooooh yes! But am I excited as hell? You betcha 🙂
Have a great year, everyone, and be sure to come back and tell us as soon as you realise everything I’ve said here is true. 😊”
I can’t tell you how accurate that is and how much my heart resonates with the love of the job shown here. Teacher training is one of the toughest things I’ve ever experienced, but brings some of the best rewards ❤
I’m so grateful for the colleague who has the ability to express this so eloquently when I could not.
Support really does matter and if you are training, the Facebook group is;
https://www.facebook.com/groups/UKTraineeTeachers/?ref=share
Have a great week everyone.
Anna x
A Peace of Life 