It’s tough starting a new job; there’s the moving costs and expenses, shaking hands with new coworkers, planning out your lessons, and, best (or worst) of all, getting to know your new class. But below are a few tips to help you out during those first few weeks at your new job, so pay close attention! These could save your life one day…
Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
It’s definitely not the easiest thing to ask for help, and, at the very least, it may feel a little degrading. But asking for help from senior members of staff, coworkers and administration isn’t a bad thing and in fact, it can come across as very endearing. They’ll be able to help you out with all aspects of your professional life from dealing with trouble between students to classroom management. Plus, being honest and gaining the trust of those around them never hurt anybody either.
Don’t be afraid to be firm with your class!
So you get into class in the morning and a student has turned their desk around, perhaps they throw things while you aren’t looking (maybe at you too!) or maybe they’re just being generally rude and derogatory to you. But being firm isn’t a one-way-ticket out of the school! In fact, many students (and teachers) will respect you if you can be firm. But please do keep in mind that being firm doesn’t mean being a military drill sergeant and it definitely doesn’t mean losing your temper!
Keep on top of your to-do list but don’t be afraid to skip over it once in a while!
You never know when a student, a co-worker, senior management or just life in general is due to drop a bombshell on you and make your life a living misery with more work than you have hours in the day for, so to lessen the blow, make sure to stay on top of your to-do list at least (preferably on a daily basis) but don’t stress if you’re unable to complete a few tasks! You can always do it tomorrow or whenever the moment is right and it’s never too late to wrap up unfinished business.
Watch that overdraft!
Money might seem to be in plentiful amounts when you’re able to cut into your overdraft quicker than a razor-sharp red-hot knife through liquid butter, but in the long-run you’ll find yourself under intense pressure to repay money you owe and as a teacher, money is the last thing you need weighing down your mind. Before buying anything expensive yourself, don’t forget to ask around first, also, ask about discounts for teachers; lots of places do them!
Don’t worry, be happy!
Gah! Coursework to mark! Papers to grade! Attendance sheets to submit! Trips to plan! Lessons to devise! It’s all too much! Wait up just a second, calm down and take a deep breath; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Better? Good! Many teachers stress over tasks to do, classrooms out of control, problems with coworkers and such and let themselves get buried deep in stress and the waves of anxiety and depression that follow repeatedly. But don’t panic! At the end of the day, you’re only human and there’s only so much you can do! Students will learn one way or another, what matters is that you are trying at all!
Of course, this is only a relatively short list, but some of the tips above are invaluable to new teachers. If you’re interested in finding a new position and getting to put some of these tips into practice, why not check out SeekTeachers’ jobs board today?
[Source: WeAreTeachers – Don’t Be Like Me: 5 Giant Mistakes I Made My First Year of Teaching]