You’re going to suck at this for a while

I’m getting a little greedy with all the hits that Your Favorite Blog has received over the last few days; ever since I switched to some writing prompts from this particular website. With that in mind, I grabbed an interesting prompt that was suggested from earlier this month…

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting at your job

As a teacher, the advice that I would give to a new teacher is that their are going to suck at this job, maybe even for the first 5 years.

Yes, college prepares you with knowledge in your content area. Your school of education courses will teach you methods, adolescent psychology (for secondary education) classroom management and how to build rapport with your students. But the fact, there are certain things, certain intangible that no amount of formal education can prepare for this line of work. There are certain things that you just have to learn through firsthand experience. Hopefully these bits of advice can help out new teachers.

Be flexible

You’re going to have lessons that you create, that you spend hours on, that simply fall flat. Sometimes it’ll be your delivery. Sometimes it’ll be the way that the students perceive it. One of the important things to remember about this profession is adaptability. You have to be able to learn from your mistakes and figure out what you want to do differently, usually at a moment’s notice.

But nothing really prepares you for the experience of being in the classroom and having to adapt not only to the needs of your classes, but to each individual student as well. There is no clear-cut definitive answer to connecting with every student. Sometimes it is a matter of trial and error.

Be firm, but fair

Another piece of advice I would offer a new teacher is that it’s much easier to start out strict with your students – establishing expectations and setting the time, and being willing to enforce the consequences for not meeting those expectations – than it is to start out as the students’ friend. It’s a lot easier to “lighten up” down to road than it is to “tighten up”.

For the male teachers

One last piece of advice I would offer, particularly to male teachers. Students tend to categorize male teachers in one of two types: either the overbearing, hard-ass coach type, or the mild-mannered, intellectual weakling type.

For a long time, students perceive me as a mild manner, weakling type. And I guess I am. I don’t coach any sports teams at any of the schools I’ve worked at. And for a long time, classroom management was an issue for me.

But lately, I’m having students, and even total strangers who approach me tell me that they assume that I either played football in high school, coached football at one point, or served in the military. A good friend of mine recently said “it’s just the way you carry yourself“ so I take that as a compliment. But it wasn’t always this way. It took me a long time to really find my footing. I never wanted to be the “hard ass type“ I always wanted to be something somewhere in the middle. Intellectual, friendly, passionate, but also stern when I need to be.

For the young men who are entering this profession, that might be the toughest thing to master. I know it was for me.

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