13 things I wish I knew before my first year of teaching

13 Things I wish I knew

before my first year of teaching

1. Taking a day off is more work than going to work sick

This one sucks. And its 100% true. It is more work having to create, explain and leave lessons for a casual teacher to take when you are unwell. And when you are unwell the absolute last thing you feel like doing is trying to replan all your lessons for someone else to teach. 

No one warned me about this and I wish I had known before my first year of teaching so I could have been more prepared by having some easy to-go lessons on hand for these circumstances.

My advice –  put aside a few easy lessons that can be included at any point in your teaching and learning program when you are absent. Some of my favourites are:

• Researching a famous scientist (or someone related to your subject)
• Educational video with supporting questions
• Textbook lesson 

2. There is no magical bookshelf with all the teaching resources

My very naive beginning teacher self thought that every school must have had a bookshelf that contained all the different worksheets, textbooks, resources and activities that teachers use daily. THIS IS NOT TRUE! 

Not only is it not true, but those activities and worksheets mentioned in the programs are also probably long lost by now. 

In my first year of teaching, the majority of my time was spent trying to work out how to teach the content and then trying to make or find the materials to go with it. 

If you are lucky you will end up in a faculty or team of teachers who are super generous in sharing their resources with you. If you are not then you will struggle to get through each day as you are left to find or make everything yourself. 

This is reality.

My advice – Don’t hesitate to spend money on buying ready-made resources.

I know this can be hard to hear, and as a beginning teacher, I did not want to part with my hard-earned money – because it was hard-earned. 

But reflecting now I wish I had spent a few dollars here and there on a worksheet or activity to give me a night off working from home.

Buy some resources to give you a head start in the topics you are teaching first term.

My favourite places for resources are:

• Teachers Pay Teachers
• Amped Up Learning
• TimeSavers for Teachers

What I wish I knew before my first year of teaching

3. You will waste many hours in meetings that could have been done in an email

This is a real pet peeve of mine actually. But it is true. You will sit in meetings and be so frustrated because you are drowning in marking and admin only to be stuck in a pointless meeting that could have been sent as an email.

Unfortunately, there is not much you can do about this. 

My advice – I would suggest taking in your laptop or notebook so at the very least you can be making to-do lists or writing down lesson ideas while you’re ‘listening’. 

4. You will spend more $ on stationary and class supplies than you will spend on yourself

I LOVE new stationery! I had no idea the amount of money I would spend in my first year of teaching getting myself ‘set up’ with pretty new gear and my classroom decorated.

My advice – don’t walk into Officeworks or Spotlight without a plan and a budget!

5. You will stay awake at night thinking about your students 

I definitely was not prepared for how emotionally involved I became with my students. I loved them. I truly loved them. Their many personalities, quirks and senses of humour. But this also meant that I cared about their problems and heartaches (of which there were many). This would often keep me up at night. 

I wasn’t prepared for this and I didn’t have the tools to be able to separate myself from the trials of my students. It almost broke me when I became a year advisor. I felt like I couldn’t save them all. But since then I have learned a lot. 

My advice – if you are a praying person then I suggest praying for your students at night and handing over their problems into the hands of God. 

If you’re not a praying person I suggest writing down the names of the students you are concerned about, folding up the paper and putting it away. This might sound silly but it will help you know you haven’t forgotten them while also allowing you to put their troubles aside for yourself. 

What I wish I knew before my first year of teaching

6. University does not prepare you for the real world of teaching

My university degree was very much a means to an end. Unfortunately, this seems to be quite common. 

While my degree was filled with educational theory, it did not prepare me for the day-to-day life of a teacher. I had very little experience in lesson planning, resource creating, writing assessment tasks, programming or even navigating difficult parent conversations and interviews. 

My first year of teaching was full on and I definitely felt like I was drowning at times.

My advice – if your school hasn’t already organised a mentor/teacher buddy for you then try to seek one out yourself. Partnering up with an experienced teacher who can help direct you and give you feedback will be such an invaluable resource for you. 

7. Not all other teachers will like you

Some teachers may find your youth or vibrancy intimidating. They may see you as a threat. They may see you as fresh meat to be taken advantage of.

I wish it wasn’t true. But in my experience, and in the experience of my other teacher friends, this is quite common. 

My advice – put your head down and stay in your own lane. Easier said than done, but try to focus on your own students and your own workload. Try to avoid anyone who drains more of your energy – you will need to save all the energy you can to get through your first year of teaching. 

8. You will be exhausted most of the time

Teaching is exhausting. The teaching workload is enormous. The emotional toll of the job is relentless. Fighting the many germs and diseases students bring to you will run you down. 

This is important to be aware of as it is essential that you carve out resting time in your week. 

My advice – In your first year of teaching it is important that you are protective of your rest time at all costs. If you decide that you won’t work on Saturdays then don’t let anything get in the way of that. If you decide you are not going to work after 5 pm on weekdays, then make sure you stick to that. 

This feels impossible at certain times in the term. But rather than adjusting how much rest time you have, you need to adjust your expectations of what you get done for work instead. 

9. You are as much an entertainer as you are a teacher

You cannot teach unless you have your students’ attention. 

This doesn’t mean you need to be a show pony as such, but trying to keep your students’ attention can often feel like more work than the actual teaching itself.

My advice – Try to keep explicit teaching sessions short and break them up with activities that allow movement and talking. 

What I wish I knew before my first year of teaching

10. It is ok to say no.

In my first year of teaching, I didn’t feel that I had any right to say no if something was asked of me. Especially by a superior. 

However, when you are in your first years of teaching it is actually imperative that you do say no. 

While your administrators and other teachers might see your energy and enthusiasm and want to capitalise on it, it’s important to say no to anything extra you are asked to do. 

If you say yes to the debating club, yes to organising the fundraising day or yes to running the school musical then you will burn out quickly and have less energy and time for your students. 

My advice – have an answer like this prepared: “Thank you so much for thinking of me for this opportunity. I would love to be considered for it in the future, however, this year my focus is on building my teaching skills and learning how to best support my students”.

11. It is ok to take a sick day (even if you aren’t “sick”)

In your first year of teaching, apart from the fact that you will probably end up sick from building your immune system to all the germs students bring into the classroom, you may also find yourself needing a “sick” day to recover from exhaustion. Because let’s be honest – you will be exhausted. Emotionally, intellectually and physically. 

An IT IS OK TO TAKE A SICK DAY.

Yes, as previously mentioned, it may feel like more work (see point #1 for my tips about that). 

But it is also important that you look after yourself and your mental health. 

My advice – take a sick day when you start to feel run down. Don’t wait until you feel like you are buried 6 ft under. 

12. You don’t need to grade everything

Oh, how I wish I knew this before my first year of teaching! I felt so much pressure to set and mark homework and make sure every little class activity had been checked over. This is not necessary! Informal assessment can take many forms and does not always require marking. 

My advice – don’t set homework unless you are required to. If you are, then make it easy short tasks. Only pick a few key pieces of work to mark throughout a term to keep your workload manageable. 

13. Your students will remember the way you make them feel – not what you teach them

Your relationship with your students will be more important than the content you teach. Your students will remember the way you treated them and the way you made them feel. 

My advice – invest in building positive relationships with your students early on. Try to take the opportunity to chat with students during class time, out on the playground, and at sport or extracurricular activities you might be involved in. 

What I wish I knew before my first year of teaching

Conclusion

Teaching is a difficult profession. But it can be made easier if you are well prepared for the day-to-day life of a teacher. I hope these 13 things I wish I knew before my first year of teaching have been helpful for you as you prepare to start your teaching career. 

You may also enjoy reading my blog post 33 top tips for beginning teachers.

Are you a teacher?

What are some of the things you wish you knew before your first year of teaching?

Please comment and let us know!

What I wish I knew before my first year of teaching.