Top 10 Tips for New Teachers

It can be hard to jump into the world of teaching in your first year. It can feel like you are jumping into the deep end of a pool and having to tread water to stay afloat. I wanted to put together a list of tips for you to reflect on as you begin this journey so you can start swimming! These tips are in no particular order; they are just a collection of my thoughts for you to reflect on! 

Let's be Franco

- Be yourself! You are in your position for a reason. You were hired, have done the schooling, done the paperwork, now it is time to show how awesome you really are! 

- Relationships first. Get to know your students and let them get to you know you! This was really hard for me. I was very "by the book" when I first started teaching. I didn't want to smile for the first week etc. I have since had a great team to help me learn that the relationships you have with the students make more of a difference than the decimal addition you are teaching!

- Get to know all the staff. Be friends with the secretaries and the custodians. You will need them more than you realize! 

- Ask questions! I can't tell you how many questions I asked my mentor my first year! I asked questions about curriculum, about how a lesson should look, what to wear, what the culture of the school was like, what faculty meetings look like, how to email parents... and the list goes on! I asked everything I could think of while I had the opportunity! I still ask a ton of questions to my team and it helps me be a better teacher every day. 

- Include parents. Let them know about the good things that are happening in your classroom! The more you communicate about the good things, the easier harder conversations will be. 

- Smile. Smile your way through. If you're having fun, they're having fun. 

- Chocolate is key! Have a stash of chocolate in your desk... you're going to need it. 

- Keep growing. No one expects you to be an expert your first year. Have grace and be patient with yourself. Use the end of the day or week as a time of reflection on what you taught. How did you do? What can you do better? I still do this in my 10th year of teaching! 

- Keep work at work. Try not to take work home with you everyday. Some days, it is inevitable that you will have to take work home but make sure you are also taking a break and taking care of yourself! 

- Have a thick skin. Students are not always nice, parents are not always nice, co-workers are not always nice, that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with you! You are learning! Take what they say and reflect on whether what they are saying has any merit, if it does, think about how you can improve in the future. You got this! 

- Have a back up plan. Especially the first week of school, have something you can pull out quickly if there is down time! I use my Would you Rather Task Cards as my quick activity to pull out! I can quickly ask 1 question or 5 if an activity took less time than I thought it would. 

BONUS: If you have the opportunity or have the support from your administration, observe other teachers! I was able to take a whole day to go around the school and watch other teachers teach. That was the most meaningful professional development I could have asked for that year! 

If you want more of my tips, click here to check me out on Instagram .

Or check out some of my Back to School resources here.