It has been quite the journey.
My path started over a year ago. I graduated from the UofC, awaiting my placement at the public school board. Alas, I was rejected, and I felt like my career as a teacher would end right there. I had no back up plans.
None at all.
And so I frantically applied to any board I could find: private, charter, out of Calgary, even international. The only place that would accept me at that time was the UK. With a heavy heart, I prepared myself to venture onto a new journey... one that I didn't feel quite ready yet.
And in the end, I did get cold feet and withdrew my application. I then started searching for careers that I can do with a B.Ed (which, to be honest, was actually kind of difficult to find). There were some part time work (tutored for a while with a different company), but nothing full time.
With the situation being presented to me, I hesitantly decided to let go of my identity as a teacher and forge myself a new path. I applied to the UofC and got accepted into the BN - Degree Holder program. I always had an interest in the field of medicine, so this was a good way for me to enter. Once again however, I was undecided, for I did not want to go back to school for another two years.
And so I made one last attempt at a teaching job posting I found online.
And since I didn't hear back in a couple of weeks, I decided to let go of my career and continue to pursue the path of a nurse.
Till one day... I decided to go out on a brisk October morning (near Hallowe'en) to go volunteer at my old junior high school to keep me occupied before my classes start in January. Just as I walked a couple meters from my house, I got a call from the last job posting I made. Lo and behold, I had an interview in a couple of days time! And so I rushed on home to prepare for my interview.
Come interview day: I was nervous and was breaking out in a cold sweat. Near the end, I didn't feel like I got myself the position. I asked when I could expect a result, and I was told that I could expect one at the end of the week. I recall how I drove home, feeling a bit down.
A few days after the interview, I get a call from the school. Expecting the worse, I answered the call meekly.
And to my utmost surprise, I was told that I could start work on the following Monday! I guess I was so shocked that I didn't initially realize what that meant. I asked for directions and time that I needed to be there... and prep for the entire weekend.
Monday approached extremely quickly. I remember putting on my favorite dress shirt and tie. I met with the principal and he gave me a tour of the school, while introducing me to the students. I remember seeing the room where I will eventually teach in. I remember meeting the staff. Fortunately for me, I had the month of November to slowly ease my way to full time teaching. I was only responsible for one course, while giving time to prep for the other courses and to get to know the students.
And comes December, where I started my assignment as a Math/Science teacher. I remember standing in my classroom, looking up at the ceiling and saying "Damn, I'm a teacher now".
And with that, my entire year was a whirlwind. I had my own homeroom, I had bus supervision, I started a karate club, helped plan field trips, went through evaluations, "coach" the badminton team, and so much more. It was extremely exhausting. I was having troubles with my homeroom students. I don't blame them, they were moved from their friends and comfort of their old homeroom, to make a new homeroom for me. It took me many months to earn their respect. They went from one of the classes I dreaded to teach to the one where I looked forward the most.
And enough blabbing about my experiences being hired! Now onto the lessons I learned as a teacher. For those freshman teachers, this is what I learned over the past year:
1) You're going to screw up.
As a student teacher, I was fortunate enough to not screw up, or not screw up often. I credit this to just having to lesson plan, without having to do anything else really. As a full fledged teacher, I made a LOT of mistakes: whether its a mistake in my notes, on assignments, marking, or forgetting to get things done for the school.
It's okay. You'll hopefully have supportive staff members and mentor teachers to help you. Make mistakes, and learn from them!
2) You're going to become sick; quite often and at times quite severe.
I think I was sick at least 5 times this year. Two cases of food poisoning (with one time where I was literally puking and gushing like an explosive fire hydrant... pardon the graphic image), had bronchitis for 2 months straight, while fighting a strep throat infection at the beginning AND a cold near the end of my bronchitis. Oh, and I was sick during the last week of school, where EVERYTHING was literally due (report cards, marking finals, marking final projects, etc).
Senior teachers aren't lying when they say you're going to get sick. Previously, I would only get sick once a year. I shattered my record in 2 months alone this year.
3) First year is a lot of planning, thus a lack of time to do much.
Well not for all, but if you're an average person like me, you probably won't have much time to do much beside school. My days would typically be like this: Wake up, go to work, stay at work to do work, go home and eat dinner, work till bed time.
It was extremely tiring and stressful. The worse part too was that at times I wouldn't be able to really plan what I wanted to do. Many times, I would plan day-by-day with no end goal in site. A REALLY BAD WAY TO PLAN AND ONE YOU SHOULD TRY TO AVOID. (I tried not to plan day-by-day, but there were certain events this year that were beyond my control). Planning day-by-day gave me extreme stress. I credit my years as a karate instructor to help me rudimentary long term plan in my head... yet at times that was really overwhelming as well.
4) You need to find some time for yourself, and that includes using your personal days and sick days.
Perhaps my biggest mistake as a teacher this year. I never took time off when I was sick (save for that one day where I was puking... I don't think my students would appreciate it if I blew my chunks on them). You should ALWAYS take time off to recover. Better to go in 100% than to fight your way through when you're crippled.
Also, don't lose your hobbies and interests. I lost a lot of mine, which in turn made me quite stressed about work. I did manage to find time to play games with friends online, but it wasn't sufficient enough.
5) Students will take advantage of you because you're a new teacher.
Perhaps they take advantage of you even if you're not a new teacher. When I was subbing for a social studies class for a period, a group of girls told me that it was against their religion to hear songs about WW2, thus they had to leave the classroom. I feel for that, hookline and sinker (or whatever the saying is).When I told their social studies teacher about that, she was outraged by it and gave the class a stern lecture. Another time that I remember was when a student told me he had to attend an event at school, so he won't be able to stay in for DT. I watch him leave the classroom and exit out the school.
Be prepared! They're going to fool you. It's kinda sneaky, but some students will tell you when their classmates are being mischievous. Use your resources wisely and learn their tactics. Also, communicate with your fellow teachers for they are sure to have had a couple of those students as well.
6) Communicate with other staff members, and especially get to know your secretary and janitorial staff.
A big piece of advice that I was given by many professors and mentor teachers, and one that I used well. I got a whole lot of help from the secretary in things like ordering supplies, using the attendance system, to a whole bunch of other things. The janitorial staff is also a valuable resource, for they'll help you with the maintenance of the classroom. I remember how one of them always made sure my paper towel dispenser was always full, which was a necessity in my messy classroom!
7) Communicate with parents.
Parent Teacher Interviews aren't the only way to talk to parents. Take the time to call them. They'll appreciate it, and it may help turn a student's work habits around. For example, I had this one student who would never do work. I called his parents, and I had an hour long meeting with them. In the end, he started doing his work and his math mark went from the 20s to the 60s.
8) Teaching is tough, and you may want to quit at times, but it's worth it in the end.
It's tough. I was one of those ignorant people back in the day that believed in the motto that "If you can't do, you teach". (That's not the reason why I became a teacher! I became a teacher because I had previous experience as a karate instructor and tutor).
Teachers have a lot of work. True, we get a lot of breaks, and the pay isn't bad... yet its a lot of work. And yes, there were many times where I thought about leaving the profession: why should I deal with students who I feel like they don't give a damn about their learning. Why should I deal with parents who would only complain teachers for not doing their job properly, yet can't understand why their child is not doing their work. Why should I deal with this horrendous work-life balance.
Because in the end, it's worth it. It's rewarding to see students succeed, whether it's as big as winning a medal at the science fair, to as "small" as seeing a student finally overcome their struggle with multiplying integers. It's worth it to see that parents come up to you and tell you that their child is happy to be in your class, for they're starting to enjoy learning. It's worth it to see students come up to you, to tell you what they did over the weekend. It's worth it to know that you're a pillar of support for students when they have an issue and they need your help to deal with it.
To conclude, teaching isn't about the money. Many of my fellow peers at my age are probably making double of what I'm making right now. Yet, there are many rewards in teaching that I don't think many other occupations can provide.
Yes, I have a lot to learn still, and I feel like I'm far from being the ideal teacher that I want to be. I know that I can improve in many aspects of my own teaching. I won't be able to change everything in a year, nor maybe even in 5 years... but I think I'll eventually get to that point. =)
And despite it being the start of summer break, I'm kinda looking forward to next year! =D
And by the time school starts... I'll probably change my mind...
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