Not Me…

Things have changed since 1987. The information I was given has aged out of the system. With the decreasing numbers of people going into education, it is extremely important that we support and cultivate people in their early years of service.

Here’s my take on how to make them career educators.

Dear First Year Teacher—2024 edition

Welcome to the greatest profession out there! You have chosen well and wisely, a career that will carry you through your life, providing a good life and lifestyle for you and your family, while being incredibly rewarding every single day.

Let’s get you started on the right foot, shall we? Consider all of the following from this career educator as I zero in on my final years. Learn from my mistakes, and my hard-won lessons from the trenches.  

Build A Team

You are alone in the classroom. Unless you have an aide, a visitor, or are being observed, it will just be you and your students day after day, period after period. You need to make sure you aren’t alone in all other aspects of your life.

• From your college/training – You just finished your college program, and I hope you earned yourself some strong friends in the education field. My college best friend helped me tremendously through my first few years, despite teaching middle school Math, compared to my high school Business Education. 
• From your real life – I’m hoping you have a small, tight circle of friends from your life up until this point. My other best friend came from one of my college part-time jobs, and it was wonderful to be able to go out and socialize without talking constantly about work. Be sure to cultivate these relationships, since they continue to be important to your growth and development.
• From your new school – If they didn’t give you a mentor, make your own! If you are a department of one, find someone with a few years experience in your hallway who can help you navigate the campus and the particular culture that will be your new school. Having a buddy to sit with in meetings, and borrow an extra box of Kleenex from is invaluable on those tough days. Only these people can understand the wins and losses that make up every school day. 

Prioritize Your Health

You are useless as an educator if you aren’t healthy. This is not the year to let things go—from your teeth to your church attendance—pay attention to everything that impacts how you feel.

• Physical – Early summer is the best time to schedule a physical, so you can take care of any testing or lingering problems before the new year starts. Be sure to cover everything from top to tails, to minimize your discomfort and days off once the school year starts. Get the new glasses, the teeth cleaning and the new insoles for your about-to-be aching feet! 
• Mental – This huge transition from college to career can play terrible tricks on your mind. This summer is the perfect time to build a relationship with a counselor if you are interested. Find someone who suits your personality, and will be available outside of school hours.
• Spiritual – If this is something that is important to you, make sure you continue to prioritize your spiritual well being. Now is the time to find services or Bible study that will work for your new school schedule, so you can keep on your previous worship schedule. 

Teaching Isn’t About Your Subject

You spent a tremendous amount of time in your college program learning about your subject matter. While Ruthie studied Math, I was knee deep in Business Law and Advertising classes. It is extremely important that you are fluent in whatever your subject might be, and have all of the core knowledge necessary to deliver a quality education to your students.

I’m not talking about your subject matter.

So much of teaching on a daily basis has nothing at all to do with your subject matter. For our education courses, Ruthie and I were in the same classes, learning the same things, to make us excellent, well-rounded educators ready to tackle all situations and problems that might arise in a modern classroom.

Put aside your subject matter, Boo Boo, and read on to hear what it really means to be an excellent teacher. 

The Most Important Skills You Need

Sweet Husband teaches Preschool Special Education, LeeLee teaches at the middle school level, and I’ve got high school juniors and seniors. We run the entire gamut of developmental levels in our family, but so much of our day is exactly the same. Kids, my friend, really are just kids…

• A thick skin – At the most difficult middle school in town, teachers at LeeLee’s school are often subjected to profanity and name-calling. Sweet Husband is told “I hate you”, and I get the eye rolls and dismissive hand gestures. Who cares? You need to develop a very thick skin, and realize that virtually all misbehavior or rudeness are the result of hormones or inherent unhappiness at home. It’s not about you. Brush it off.
• A strong constitution – Every single first quarter, Sweet Husband is sick. For the entire nine weeks. There are so many germs in an elementary school it is ridiculous, particularly when the ill children continue to grab your arm or touch you as you go by. This is why it is very important that you monitor your own health, make sure you are eating well and getting enough sleep. The germs in a school with cement block walls have nowhere to go except your nose.
• Hobbies you love – You need things that you enjoy outside of your profession, and these are the things that will help you find your center on the really bad days. Whether you sit outside in the sun an hour a day after school, or create art that you can display in your classroom, it is important that you continue to maintain your personal hobbies, even while in the business of the school year.
• Real friends – Not students. I mean it, Boo Boo, you can’t believe how many young teachers fall into the trap of wanting to be “liked” by their students. You are not their friend, their contemporary or their sibling. Maintain that separation at all costs. Continuing your friendships in real life will help you remember to maintain that respectful, important distance from your students. 

Let’s Talk Classroom Management

I’ve written about the importance of classroom management before, and remind you that this is the thing that sinks many new teachers. You can’t teach if you don’t have order. You can’t impart knowledge if all you are doing is disciplining students. 

• Absolutely most important thing – Read everything you can about classroom management, and speak to your new mentor about it. In my opinion, this is the biggest thing lacking in education programs in colleges. 
• Control the room – From the first moment of the first day, you need to create what is called a “command presence” in your classroom. You need to be the focus of the room, and you need to present a calm, relaxed, respectful front. Kids will respond to whatever they are given to work with—if you are emotional or unprepared, they will know it and respond with disobedience. It’s in their DNA.
• Building a “group contract” – Allowing the students to have some say in how a classroom is run can be a very useful tool for a new teacher. It will give you insight into what the students feel is a good learning environment, and help you get to know your students on a deeper level. Just remind them that this isn’t actually a democracy, and you reserve the right to change or alter any of the rules they wish to set. 
• Nothing else matters – Mutual respect. It is the secret weapon that will allow you to teach bell to bell every single day. If the kids feel disrespected—no matter their age—they will respond with disrespect. Make sure you are treating them as you wanted to be treated when you were in school. It really does work. 

Here Are My Two Rules, Feel Free To Use Them

I’ve had these two rules—and ONLY these two rules—for all of these years, and I share them here for you. Change them, add to them, do as you please. All I know is they continue to serve me well.

• Do your work – “Students are required to complete any and all tasks they are given to the best of their ability.” Notice it doesn’t say perfectly—we have to TEACH them, don’t we? It just says you will do your best work at all times. This rule immediately makes your non-honor roll students feel infinitely better, because they know they will be supported as they learn.
• Show respect – “Students will demonstrate respect for all people and things in the classroom at all times. In return, students will always be treated with dignity and respect.” Students LOVE this one, and I make sure I follow it to the letter. When they feel appreciated and respected, students will walk through fire for you. All you need to do is live up to your end of the bargain. 

Does my way work?

Ask my alumni. Thousands and thousands of them who are living strong, productive lives across the country. As a matter of fact, one of my alum from 1993 will be speaking at our Business Management Banquet this year.

So, yeah, Boo Boo, it really works.

Now, go get that physical.

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR!!!

Wow, thank you for reading the letter to first-year teachers!

Hey, since you’re here! You may as well check out classroom seating strategies, here, and learn about project based learning, here! Check out our other topics here! Either way, I appreciate you!

Please leave a COMMENT about any tips you may have!! Or comment what your favorite lesson of mine was! How’s your student organization operating?

Feel free to contact me or leave a COMMENT with anything you would like to hear more about! Or reach out with any unrelated questions, comments, concerns, or random outbursts of excitement by clicking here.

Oh! And don’t forget to check out my video series by CLICKING HERE!!!