Teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs out there, but it takes a serious amount of work. The first year is usually the hardest and can even cause you to reevaluate your entire career path before it’s over. Before you get too discouraged though, here are some things you can do to help yourself survive your first year of teaching.
Find Support
Mentors and teacher friends are a necessity. You will have days where you think you truly can’t do it anymore but having that support system around you can make all the difference. These are people who have been in your shoes before and made it through. You can always go home and talk to others about what your day was like, but other teachers are the only ones who will truly understand and have your back no matter what.
Plan Ahead
Getting behind on lesson plans can become a major problem that leads to unnecessary stress. Although you will likely have to change and adjust your lesson plans often, it’s still good to have them done a few weeks ahead of time. Ask your mentors for help when creating your lessons. There are great online resources as well, and you can even find some free lesson plans New York NY, to help you when you get stuck.
Don’t Burnout
It’s easy to get caught up in your first year of teaching and neglect yourself, but that can lead to teacher burnout. Make sure that you are still taking care of yourself. Exercise and do things outside of the classroom that you enjoy. It’s ok to take time for you.
Although you’ll be overwhelmed at times, just remember why you started teaching in the first place. There are going to be a lot of hard times ahead, but those moments where you connect with your students and get to watch them learn and grow truly make it worth it in the end.
You will have days where you think you truly can’t do it anymore but having that support system around you can make all the difference. These are people who have been in your shoes before and made it through. You can always go home and talk to others. It’s easy to get caught up in your first year of teaching and neglect yourself, but that can lead to teacher burnout. Make sure that you are still taking care of yourself. Exercise and do things outside of the classroom that you enjoy. Its ok to take time for you. You will have days where you think you truly can’t do it anymore but having that support system around you can make all the difference. These are people who have been in your shoes before and made it through.