New Teacher's Survival Kit - Ongoing Posts

Hello Fellow Teachers,

I found this great website for new teachers that find it hard to make it through the first year, or even the first few years. Teaching, although it is rewarding, can be very challenging at times. I found these videos particularly helpful for understanding how to appropriately plan for lessons, as well as manage a classroom. There is lots to see, so explore! These videos are on teachingchannel.org. 

There are also tons of scholarly articles that will help you think about the pedagogy of teaching. I always said to myself that I want to be successful at teaching. Too often people go into the career of teaching with their exit strategy: in 3-5 years they want to be an administrator. Although it is my goal to one day become an administrator, that doesn't make my current position as a teacher irrelevant. I have to, we as teachers have to, live in the moment while still keeping the end in mind (no pun intended). We have to perfect our craft as teachers so that the students we serviced are not disadvantaged because of our selfish goals. I have found myself engaged in many articles that suggest ways to be successful at teaching. I love reading about teaching, and how to improve my practice as a teacher. So in short, you will survive as you live in the moment, and take one day at a time. Stay current on the pedagogy of teaching, as well as the content you are teaching. Don't allow disappointing moments to be setbacks for you. Burnout comes most often when we feel as though what we are doing isn't making an impact. We have to remember that it is not about us! It is about the students, and so if something isn't working we must change it. If we don't know how to change it, it is our responsibility to find out how. That, my friends, is the long and short of teaching. It is not the most initially gratifying position, but you learn so much about yourself and your capabilities in the process of teaching others about the content you teach.