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Hi Samantha,
Those are all potentially problematic for a new teacher depending on the support system and curricular emphasis on the school and district in which you land your first teaching position. Based on some of my own personal experiences working with new teachers, I hear them saying things like, 'it is all so overwhelming' and 'I have so many children with so many needs' and 'there is so much to keep track of and not enough time in the day'. A new teacher I worked with last year became disheartened after a couple of months because there were so many new things to learn all at once. We were dealing with learning our students' names; figuring out what their strengths and weaknesses were academically, socially, and emotionally; learning a brand new phonics program; and of course all the other programs - how to use kits and online texts for science, two different math programs, and the reading, writing and social studies programs. Plus, coming off of over a year of remote learning, we were still having to teach to two different audiences each day - those online via Zoom and those in our classrooms.
Fortunately, the school and district had many teacher supports in place. Each new teacher was provided a mentor, all the teachers of a certain grade were in teams, in the same part of the building, and met daily to plan, share, and support each other. Much professional development was built into the school year, and technology and student support was readily available. Also our principal and all of the support staff were extremely supportive and actively engaged in helping everyone be successful. Even with all of this, new and seasoned teachers alike felt the pressure and spent many hours beyond each school day just to keep up. Teaching is among the most challenging and exhaustive careers but also one of the most rewarding. You fall in love with your children each year and do everything you can to make sure each and every one of them is successful, happy, and safe. The good news: By January, the new teacher and all the rest of the team felt much more prepared and able to carry on. The learning curve is front-loaded. Those curricular elements work themselves out as your competence and experience kicks in. That leaves you with more time to get to know your children and their parents.
Approaches to guide you: Get enough sleep every night - make it a priority! Seek out the help of your colleagues, and remind yourself that the learning curve is front loaded - get through those first few months! Recall the strategies and tools you are learning in your education classes and start trying some of them out. Many schools are trained in Kagan's classroom strategies. Your students will likely work best when you set up some routines that they can depend on. Make it a priority to reach out to all of your parents. Communication is very important, and you don't want the first time they hear from you be a dreaded phone call. Consider an online presence for your classroom where you highlight student work, have a student-generated newsletter, etc.
I am sure there are many others out in our education community who can add more approaches that have been working for them. As an educator of several decades, I am so happy in my career choice and am passionate about wanting all the children in my state to have the best possible school experiences so that they can leave school to become responsible, happy, thriving adults.
Best wishes to you in your chosen career! We are all here to support you!
Best,
Prof. Mohr
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