From the StarSo being a new teacher is a little bit more difficult than I thought it would be. While it is tons of fun, it is also a lot of work, and yes, a lot of stress. A lot of people say that teaching is a cake job, but let me tell you something, if they could just spend one week in my shoes, they would absolutely change their minds. If this job wasn’t so rewarding and my kids were not so awesome, I think that I might just loose my mind!!! There are a lot of things that they forget to tell you as a new teacher.
While many of my coworkers are very helpful and informative, they themselves only have so much time that they can give. I have been teaching now for 5 weeks and already feel I am so far behind. Don’t get me wrong. I really am learning a lot but I still have so much more to learn.
I have had many trainings already but still it seems that I have so many more. For instance, we just finished F.A.I.R. testing and I have 20 trainings scheduled to learn how to interpret the results! They can’t come soon enough. I have been teaching Readers' and Writers Workshop now for three weeks and have not had one single training on the materials. CRAZY, I know. I have read the Teacher's Guides over and over again, but I still feel as though I am not getting the full gist. While I am hanging in there and I do think my students are really learning, I can’t help but think that there is so much more that I could be teaching them if only I had been trained in the materials. I so wish more of this had been included in my college education! I plan to continue to give my students my all but can’t wait until I am fully trained.
This weekend, one of the things that has been stressful is the LFS lesson plans and lessons. For those of you who are not familiar, this is Learning Focused Strategies and the lesson plans are pretty detailed with specific activities. Well guess what - if you guessed that I have not been trained, you are correct - and I don’t get trained for another month. So while I am doing my best to meet the requirements of the LFS I really feel lost. Of course, I had training in writing lessons plans in my college prep, but it was woefully inadequate for what I am doing now. Although my Principal certainly understands that I have not been trained, I imagine her looking at my lesson plans and saying, WHAT is she thinking? I also wonder how much more I could be doing for the children in my class if I understood this better. I really want to be really good at this.
I know that every new teacher has her own struggles but I just thought that I would share some of mine. The truth of the matter, however, is that even with the uncertainty and stress, I am so excited to be teaching. Have I told you recently that I truly do love my job!
I remember feeling so frustrated about what I didn't know when I was a new teacher. I drove my rep from downtown crazy (I'm sure) asking a million questions my first year. I felt like no one else was concerned that I was out there doing the best I could instead of doing what I should. What I learned over time was that no one is concerned because there is ALWAYS something new to learn. A new initiative, a new teaching technique, newly adopted materials.... it never ends. They know you are doing well because you have demonstrated you are learner who is giving 100% with what she knows as of today. I'm sure a quick visit to your classroom would show students engaged in an inviting environment - the hallmark of a great classroom to be in.
ReplyDeleteIt's the passion for the job that will keep you going when you feel frustrated. All the kids care about is that you love them and they are learning, the parents too for that matter. It sounds like you are off to a great start to me!