Teachers love to teach (obviously), and sometimes that means teaching other teachers how to teach. 🤣 It sounds silly, but we seriously do it all the time! We go to conferences and have professional development days, and we take online courses and meet with our professional learning communities (PLCs) to learn from each other and continue to grow as educators. 

During my first few years as a new face in the world of education, I received more advice than I knew what to do with. I was taking online classes for my master’s degree in teaching, and I was asking a lot of questions to the other teachers and administrators at my school. I was learning so much, so fast, about how to teach that it could get a little overwhelming and confusing for me at times. I started to question myself and feel insecure about my teaching ability. I wondered what my students and coworkers thought of me, and whether or not I was “good enough” at teaching. 

In recent conversations I have had with other teachers who are new to the field of education, I have discovered that they feel similar. Starting a new job can be intimidating and intense, but it can also be a time full of personal growth. So I want to share some of the most important lessons I have learned during my first year teaching that could apply to any profession or position of leadership!

1. Be Yourself 

This is an important lesson for everyone, but it is the most important lesson I have learned as a teacher. We hear it all the time, but it’s so easy to start comparing ourselves to the people around us and change our behavior accordingly. It’s good to grow and evolve over the years, but it’s not so great to try to be someone you simply are not. 

I have always been super outgoing and friendly. My principal in elementary school even nicknamed me “Smiley” because I never stopped smiling. As much as it pains me, I don’t have an intimidating bone in my body. If I tried to intimidate my students, they would laugh in my face because that’s just not me. 

I make my high school students sing and dance to Spanish songs for kids because I like to have fun and move around. We play games and joke with each other because I love to laugh. We have class discussions (and sometimes get off topic) because I love to have conversations with people. Sometimes I feel guilty for not being more serious all the time, or for getting off task occasionally, but those moments create learning experiences that my students will take with them way beyond the classroom. When we embrace who we are, even if it seems unconventional, we will ultimately become better teachers, parents, and leaders.

2. Be Consistent 

I may not be the most intimidating teacher, but that doesn’t mean I can’t manage my classroom. I have found that the most important part of managing people (whether in a classroom or the workplace) is to set clear expectations from the beginning and be consistent. We have all heard the saying “actions speak louder than words,” and it is true. We can post rules on the wall and tell the students we will not tolerate certain behaviors, but if we don’t back those words up with our actions then they quickly lose their meaning. 

This is a lesson I am still learning and trying to improve each year. It can be really difficult for me to stay firm in my expectations and keep reinforcing the rules over and over again throughout the year, but it really does make a difference. If I consistently allow students to interrupt me, then that’s exactly what they will continue to do. Even if the rule on the wall says “be respectful” or “raise your hand.” But if I consistently redirect them to the rules and remind them how to appropriately get my attention, then eventually they will follow that rule. 

When toddlers start walking, they know what “no” means, but they will still turn around and look at us with that mischievous smirk on their faces right before doing something that they have been told not to do. They will giggle and get closer and closer to whatever it is, or they will throw a fit until they get what they want. They are testing our boundaries and learning their limits. How far can they go before trouble comes? That’s in our nature, and our classroom is no different. 

Consistency is key in setting expectations, implementing rules and procedures, getting attention, and building relationships. It’s extremely important to be consistent in how we treat people. We may naturally gravitate towards certain people, and we may butt heads with others, but it so important to treat everyone with the same level of respect. 

3. Be Vulnerable 

A large part of building trust and forming mutually respectful relationships is honesty. As a teacher or leader in the workplace, this can be very difficult and almost counterintuitive. We are often expected to be nothing short of perfect and hide it from others when we make mistakes or fail at something, but that can be a lonely and stressful way to live. 

The most freeing thing I have done as a teacher is admit when I am wrong or don’t know something. I am not a walking dictionary, and it has been a few years since I took a university-level Spanish class. I may not know the word for “brussel sprouts” right off the top of my head, but I have a friend named Spanish Dictionary who does! I may not remember the future perfect conjugation of a random verb, but I can look it up and check myself. I have been corrected by students during cultural discussions, and I have pulled out my phone to look up random words in Spanish many times. 

I also have bad days. There have been days when I have had a migraine or haven’t felt well and needed a minute of quiet. I was honest with my students in those moments and told them how I felt, and they graciously allowed me to change plans from a loud rambunctious activity to a more quiet one. There have been days where I was so tired at the end of the day I thought I was going to fall over, and I was honest with my students about that. We would laugh about it together because they could relate to the way I felt. 

Those moments of vulnerability- no matter how big or small- are a powerful reminder to myself and to my students that I am a human being. I am nowhere near perfect, and that is okay. 

January 2022 – My first year teaching 💛