Advice for New Teachers

As another pandemic school year begins, I am concerned about those who are new to teaching. I worry about the first year and young teachers, our pre-service teachers, and newcomers to schools and communities. 

I wish I could go back in time and give myself the benefit of experience before I had any. I wish I could tell my younger self a few things that would have made my students’ and my experience far better. 

But I had to learn it on my own! 

I had mentors and guides who helped me along the way, and much of their wonderful wisdom stayed with me throughout my career. Sometimes I understood their advice and other times it took me years to realize what they were trying to teach me. I hope that, even with the problems of the pandemic, that our new teachers will find nurturing mentors, as I did. 

A little while ago, I was talking to some of my son’s friends who were either training to be teachers or just started teaching. I also had a long conversation with a man who is changing careers to become a teacher. I wanted to give them something practical they could use and straightforward strategies that could accelerate their growth as teachers. I wanted to help them avoid the mistakes I made early in my career. I am well aware they will make many mistakes, but I hoped they might not be the same ones I made. 

In the moment, it was difficult to prioritize – and not pontificate. Like our students, young teachers learn by doing, and words of advice have limited effect. With that limitation in mind, here are a few suggestions for those who are new to their roles in the classroom: 

It is all about relationships: building strong relationships takes time. It is easier to think about units, objectives, targets, tests, grades, and assignments. However, kids learn within the context of a social environment. Just as the presence of certain students can enhance or hinder learning, kids’ relationship with the teacher is the ground in which all learning grows. Like it or not, the kids’ feelings about their teacher are either moving learning forward or making it more difficult. There is no escaping this. We are not programming computers. 

This does not mean the teacher must be a namby-pamby pushover or a buddy-buddy friend. Nor do teachers need to manipulate their students by showing them how cool and connected they are. These are also traps that young teachers may fall into. There is a delicate balance between being a person and being a professional, between being distant and being close. While each teacher must navigate this on their own, they all must be aware that the creation of this relationship is crucial and the most powerful element in the classroom. 

The emotional environment teachers create in the classroom comes before any curriculum; it is the first curriculum. Without learning about the kids, the curriculum is handicapped. Teachers must create means of exploring each individual safely and simply. They might greet kids by name as they enter the room, learn their interests and hobbies, find out about their families and support networks, and look them in the eyes when they are speaking to them. Teachers must show students the respect they would want anyone to show a child anywhere – especially when the children least deserve it.  

Most of all, teachers must actively demonstrate to EVERY student that they like them – even (or especially) when they don’t. They must help EVERY student feel like they are the teacher’s secret favorite. Every student should see the teacher as an advocate and coach, a cheerleader and helper. This doesn’t mean we can’t disagree or discipline. A strong word from someone you respect has far more power than from someone who you think doesn’t like you anyway. 

The teacher must make it okay for kids to say, “I don’t understand,” “Please say that another way,” and “I need help with this.” Teachers should model those behaviors. Let kids teach and help the teacher, too! The classroom should be the safest of spaces and the place where it is okay to take off the teenage mask (even if retaining the one to prevent illness), if only for a few minutes. 

Which means the teacher must be their most authentic self: young teachers feel like they must establish their expertise and authority. Of course, they are unsure of themselves. They think they look weak if their students see them as less skilled than other teachers. The truth is that a new teacher is not as expert as a more experienced teacher. Trying to pretend to be one is a futile act that will certainly not fool students. Kids see through this kind of pretension and are eager to poke holes in the teacher’s false image – but they respect honesty. 

Instead, new teachers should lean into the fact that, like the students, they are learning as they go. They must be candid with kids when they are doing something new, scary, difficult, or complex. New teachers must embrace their neophyte status and enjoy it. I often encourage new staff members to use their “new kid” card as long as they can, “I was supposed to clear this with the assistant principal? I didn’t know that. I am new here,” “I have to call home? No one told me that. I’ll know better next time.” New kid permission goes away quickly. Enjoy it while it is still okay to make those errors. 

While I am clearly advocating being highly authentic in the classroom, there is an exception to this rule. Kids in a classroom are emotional mirrors. If the teacher is angry, soon there will be dozens of angry people in the room. If the teacher is distracted, sad, or anxious, the students will unconsciously amplify and respond to the teacher’s affect. So like the coach going into the locker room to give a pep talk to the team, teachers must have a good game face. To a certain degree, this is pure and simple professionalism. There is nothing wrong with starting a class by saying, “I am struggling today and I need your help.” That is authentic. However, the teacher must then do their best to put those challenges aside and be the best professional they can. While teachers shouldn’t fake the content, they must do their utmost to even out their emotions and put them aside until the kids leave the room. The worst classes I have ever experienced are almost always terrible because of my emotional state before the kids even arrive. A new teacher must ask themselves, “Would I want a classroom full of me right now?” If the answer is no, the teacher must become the person the students should be, if only for the class period! 

Part of teacher self-care is realizing when this is not possible. If my feelings are so powerful that I cannot hold it together in class, that is an indicator that I need to put my own needs first. A teacher’s mental well-being is at least as important as their students’. It is critically important that we take care of our own mental health needs. Just as one would not spread germs if one has a fever (or COVID), one should not come to school if one is in emotional or mental distress.  

Finally, kids come first, grades come second. New teachers get a ton of messages about the importance of assessment, specifically the all-important semester grade. It is often parents’ number one issue. However, the student comes before the grade. Almost without exception, if a teacher is asking themself, “Should I change this grade?” the answer is yes. I have already written, several times, that if ever a teacher thinks or says, “If I do this for you, I will have to do this for everyone,” then it is something that should be done for everyone right away. Grades, too. Grades feel so weighty and laden with meaning and import – and the truth is, they aren’t that important –except in how they reflect that emotional environment. Always round up on grades. Always give kids the benefit of the doubt. Always do what you would want the teacher of your child to do for them! 

Let’s say that again: If my child were in this situation, what would I want their teacher to do? 

Just to make this list too long. Here is an earlier piece I wrote about some things I learned by teaching in the same school my children attended. Some of these items are particularly applicable for new teachers. Some may be for later. 

If a traveler in a blue box comes by and scoops me up to go exploring through time and space, I will request a brief stop at Deerfield High School in the fall of 1986 to whisper a few words in my own ear. I hope I would listen to myself. I think I would. It would then take me a while to figure out how to put my advice in action, but there is no shortcut for that.