I remember my first year teaching. I was 23 years old and hadn’t step foot in a middle school classroom since 2003 when it was cool to wear clothes from Limited Too and make your own CDs using an illegal music downloading website that shall not be named because ya know… it was illegal. Anyways, the middle school kids from 2003 were not the same as the middle school kids I was about to encounter in 2014. Like an Eminem song, my palms were sweaty, my knees were weak, and my arms were heavy. I was scared out of my mind. No one gave me the first year teacher advice that I desperately needed. Because of that, I had to learn the hard way. You know what they say: trial by fire! But I don’t want that for you or any first year teacher, so I’ve compiled a short, but solid, list of advice for first year teachers.

1. Your classroom doesn’t have to be a TikTok phenomenon

Okay, we love TikTok, am I right? I mean, I can spend hours upon hours scrolling through, video after video, laughing hysterically at a bulldog riding a skateboard one minute and the next minute staring with heart eyes as a “perfect teacher” uses her “perfect decorations” to design a “perfect classroom” for her “perfect students.”

*insert eye roll here*

It’s all a lie. You don’t have to be a TikTok, or Instagram, or Facebook phenomenon with the perfect classroom aesthetic. After nearly 10 years teaching, let me tell you…. your students do NOT care what kind of bulletin board border you used or the patterned desk skirt you chose.

What is important is your teaching. Always.

2. Know your content backwards and forwards

And on that note, let’s talk about teaching. More specifically, let’s talk about content knowledge. This is your ultimate weapon and where your focus should be as a first year teacher. In order to be an effective teacher, you must know your content backwards and forwards. Now before you panic, this takes time and patience and does not happen over night. That’s okay. But it’s something that you must study. Go to professional development seminars, read the teacher book your mentor recommended, and research, research, research. Your knowledge is your greatest weapon.

3. Lean on the veteran teachers

Another powerful weapon that is underutilized? Veteran teachers. All too often, I hear first year teachers say, “Well, I didn’t want to ask because I didn’t want to bother them,” or “I didn’t want to seem stupid,” or “I just tried to figure it out on my own.”

As a veteran teacher, myself, I’m here to say WE WANT TO HELP YOU! Please don’t be shy in asking for help when you need it. Yes, it is 100% important for you to learn your content, study your content, and build your knowledge, but an integral part of building your knowledge is leaning on those who came before you. And let’s be honest… sometimes it’s easier to knock on your neighbor’s door to ask for a mentor text for teaching about a flawed protagonist than scouring the internet for 3 hours.

We want to help you. Ask us.

3. Go to the bathroom… aka take care of yourself

Now this may seem silly, but it needs to be said. Do you know how many teachers I know who have ended up in doctor offices because they refused to go to the bathroom?! But it’s a bigger conversation than potty breaks.

You have to take care of yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Sometimes in our desires to be the best teacher ever, we forget that we have needs. We forget that we are responsible for ourselves first and foremost. This means that we cannot be our best selves for our students if we are not taking care of our mental health, physical needs, and overall emotional well-being.

Ooooo, can I get an amen?

No one gave me this first year teacher advice, but I desperately needed it. So many teachers lose themselves in this profession because they put themselves on the back-burner. That back burner mentality leads to teacher burnout, and we don’t deserve that. Take care of yourself, teacher friend.

4. Leave work at work

With that being said, let’s have a conversation about boundaries. There’s so much that will happen in one day at your school, let alone a whole week! You have to leave work at work. I know, I know… so much to do, and so little time. I get it. But take it from me, staying at work until 8pm at night didn’t do me any favors. In fact, as a first year teacher, I barely slept, worked tirelessly during my lunch breaks and conference periods, after school, and into the night. I took it a step further, using my weekends to do more, be better, exceed and excel.

First year teachers, if you don’t take any other piece of advice from me, take this one. You MUST learn to set boundaries. Now I’m not saying don’t work at home because I understand wanting to use that time to catch up without the stress of being in the four walls of a school. What I am saying is set a boundary. Maybe instead of working until 8pm, you allot one hour. Maybe instead of spending your weekends working, you set a hard boundary that weekends are for rest. This is something that you have decide for yourself, but once you set that boundary, stick to it.

5. Organization is key

Another piece of first year teacher advice I want to give you is this… classroom organization is a MUST. The last thing you want to be worried about while you’re writing kids an office referral for slapping each other with the full force of a WWE wrestler on the back of the neck is where you misplaced your semester exams.

Organize everything! Your resources, your tests, your books, your pencils, your construction paper, even your tiny paper clips. Everything must have a place, and there are so many classroom organization resources out there that can help you accomplish this.

If you are not organized as a teacher, your students won’t be organized either. This is also a key pillar of your classroom management.

Stay tuned for the next blog to get tips on how to effectively manage your classroom, students, and… parents!

And another thing… HAVE FUN!

There are so many teachers with so many opinions on how to make your first year a great one, but one thing that I think we all can agree on is that you have to remember to have fun. Kids are hilarious! Yes, they will be sassy, and yes, they’ll forget to turn in homework, and yes… that portrait they drew of you may not be the most flattering, BUT you will remember these kids for the rest of your life. They will bring you so much joy and laughter. Please remember to have fun and give yourself room to enjoy teaching. It’s the best job in the world.

I hope this first year teacher advice was helpful and encouraging to you, teacher friend. You have my full support, and I know you’re going to rock this school year like a boss. Believe in yourself. You got this!

Stay wild,

Here are a few resources that may help you on your first year teacher journey. Need more? Click HERE!