Remembering My First Year Teaching
Sunday afternoon I watched a segment on Dateline entitled The Education of Ms. Groves about a first year teacher inGeorgia. The show chronicles Ms. Groves’ first year as a sixth grade English teacher and illustrates her struggles as well as her triumphs. It is an interesting look at what her students learn throughout their sixth grade year as well as the lessons she learns as a first year teacher.
It got me thinking about my first year teaching and the lessons I learned. I began teaching in 1998 at Austin Middle School in Irving, Texas. I taught eighth grade English to what would be my most challenging group of students to date. Most teachers cite their first year teaching as the most difficult because of lack of knowledge, organizational issues and other such explanations, but mine was difficult because of the students. Although it sometimes seemed like a constant battle for my sanity, I remember the students fondly because by the end of the year we were connected.
I have never again had such a motley group of students – students with police issued ankle monitors, students with drug problems and students involved with gangs. Although they may sound like a bunch of hooligans, they really were good kids and they certainly had their own problems to deal with outside of school – homelessness, incest, parents in jail, no food to eat, siblings to care for and bills to help pay. It took us a little while, but we began to get along and even learn from one another. These are some of the lessons my first group of students taught me about teaching…
- Raising my voice is pointless… it only lets the students know I have lost control.
- It is okay to say I don’t know if I don’t.
- Adjective phrases, Greek Mythology and vocabulary aren’t really a high priority to a student wondering where he is going to sleep tonight.
- There is always a leader in every class, and if you can get him/her on your side, the rest will follow.
- Treat the students with respect, and they will treat you the same.
- Middle school girls are all about drama and the boys are one big hormone.
- No one likes to be yelled at. If there is a problem, the best thing to do is talk it through.
- Most of the students just don’t care about their work as much as I do, but if I care about them, they will do it because I ask it of them.
- If I say I am going to do something, then I better do it.
- My memories from school are not exactly the reality in the classroom today.
- Students don’t do homework (at least not without a lot of prodding).
- Students will rise to the level of expectation you set for them.
- Over plan… because some students just work faster than others.
- Just because I get really excited about a lesson, doesn’t mean the students are going to.
- Spend time building relationships with the students. It pays off.
- Teaching is hard work, but it is worth it.
I am now in my ninth year of teaching, and I often wonder what happened to that first group. I attended their graduation from Irving High School and listened for familiar names but was disappointed at the few I heard called. I hope the names I didn’t hear were because they moved to another school to continue their education, changed their name, graduated early or graduated in summer school. I occasionally run in to a few of my “first years” at the grocery store, the mall or at the school where I currently teach and I get a glimpse into their lives. I wish them well wherever they are, and I hope that they have retained some of the lessons I taught them because I will never forget the lessons I learned from them. 
Feel free to share some of the lessons you learned your first year teaching…
September 17, 2006 at 10:44 pm
We’ve been teaching about the same length of time, and while my first year wasn’t with as, shall I say, as colorful a group as yours, it was still a pretty typical Bronx set of kids. 167 kids on my first day. Also, I was miserable at it. Not first year miserable. Worse than most, by a lot.
I learned a ton from what I did wrong that year, and the next. Our lessons overlapped. But there are a few I can add (and I still rely on them, at least to some extent)
1. Administration may give you 17 rules to give the kids, but don’t give a rule that you are not going to consistently enforce. Combine the 17 to produce a number that you can manage. (These days my syllabus says “this classroom is governed by general rules of mutual courtesy and respect. Everyone, teachers and students, are bound by this.” or something like that)
2. If it’s us against them, make the ‘us’ you and your class. I rallied class after class against the state, against the school administration, against other classes, against the disruptive element wandering the hallways. (ex: “They (the state) doesn’t want 100% passing these tests because they will look too easy. So they wrote it so that you guys will fail and the kids in the suburbs will pass. Should we try to prove them wrong?” I had classes asking me to shoo kids out of the hallway, or call deans. If it was us against the world, it meant the class was working with me.
3. Let them move. 45 minutes is too long to sit still. I fidget. Make them shift their desks. Or come to the board. Or put things away and take other stuff out. A break. A stretch. It really helps.
4. Give them control of some aspect of the room. It can be minor, but the symbolism is big. I ‘give’ kids about two thirds of my board space, and let them put homework that they choose at the beginning of class. In some classes I let them choose seats (bad idea with freshmen, I learned the hard way). Some classes get to choose which day a quiz will be, or I consult on the due date for a project. Once a kid has participated in decision making for the class, either on an individiual item, or as a whole class thing, he has ‘bought in.’
5. Let them work. If you are chronically exhausted, you are doing too much, they are not doing enough.
6. Don’t get too keyed up if your lesson doesn’t fly. Or if you get side-tracked. Or if you do something more interesting, or off topic, instead. If the lesson was important enough, you will work it back in. It is okay if learning trumps your planning (occasionally)
So, I did all of yours wrong, and all of mine. For about two years. But slowly I learned. This is the start of my tenth year, NYC high school math, and I don’t even give this stuff much thought any more. I should.
Nice post.
September 17, 2006 at 11:25 pm
What a fantastic post here! I actually wasn’t reminded so much of my own first year of teaching but rather of my middle/high school days and all the havoc I caused for my teachers. Anyway, it was interesting to read your thoughts here. It really sounds as though you’ve come a long way since that first year…!
September 18, 2006 at 8:44 pm
JD2718,
Thanks for your insightful comment. From your comment it seems that one of the largest lessons you learned your first year teaching is to give the students some control of their education – input, space and cohesion. Great lessons! I have learned these along the way as well.
It feels nice to reflect on the things we know now (especially on days we struggle). Thankfully, I am not a first year teacher again, but I still get to remember what I learned when I was.
September 19, 2006 at 6:09 pm
If I can’t remember how it was, I don’t see how I can help new teachers. I received a lot of advice that while well-meaning was worthless to someone who couldn’t control a class. It’s funny, really. I’ve learned to take complete control at the beginning of the year, just so I can hand it back to them (but in a form I am happy with) as time progresses.
October 1, 2006 at 4:30 pm
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