All Good Things Must Come To An End

As the school year comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on this amazing first-year experience. It wasn't what I was expecting (but when does that ever apply in life). I can honestly say this past year has been the best year of my life so far. At the same time, I've seen people loosing their minds while doing this same thing. Which causes one to wonder what it is exactly that can make this job good and what can make you tear your hair out. Now that I'm feeling all sentimental and sad that I have to leave the students and teachers I love, I wanted to write about what I learned. So here it is...

15 Things I Learned My 1st Year of Teaching

Warning: This is cheesey. But true.
I think writing out our feelings forces us to take the time to reflect and improve. So regardless of whether anyone reads this or not, I know it was good for me to write.

1. You see what you look for.

This year I've seen teachers and administrators with the most positive outlook, and also teachers and admin with the most negative outlook. I have been in the same room/situation with another teacher and seen a student or action completely differently than they have. What I might see as an honest mistake another teacher or admin might see as an act of defiance. I've seen teachers who label certain people in their heads as "the bad kids" and then no matter what that poor kid does, they're yelled at. I've noticed even myself doing it. I think everyone does it to a certain degree because we're human. But I at least check myself and make sure that I'm paying attention to what that student does right as well as what they do wrong. After I started looking for the good, that's what I saw. If you look for the bad, you'll absolutely hate this job, and the students will absolutely hate you. Afterall, they're pre-teens. They're not going to be perfect.

2. You don't need to reinvent the wheel every day.

For some reason, I came into this with a pathological fear of doing the same thing twice or being boring. But after putting a ton of thought into a new idea, I'd have students ask me if we could do the classic game we played last time. I realized that you can steal ideas from other teachers, do the same thing again, or go back to the same things you did in Jr. High and still have an educational and fun class.

3. They usually don't know as much as they think they know... or as much as you think they'll know.

For some reason before this experience, I was petrified of the students being little geniuses that know everything. I would over prepare, as if about to teach a college class, just for fear of getting a question that I don't know the answer to. I was afraid of having a student know more than I do and feeling embarrassed. I quickly learned that they don't know as much as they think they do, or as much as I was afraid they would. But I also learned that I will have students that are better than me at certain things or know more than me at certain things... and that's okay. I didn't grow up playing competitive basketball, so the students that have can help me teach what they know. Fully admitting that there are things I don't know helped the students to realize that we all have strengths and weaknesses, and we can't compare our weakness to another person's strength.

4. Be prepared to be the referee.

I had forgotten that you don't really have all of your social weirdness sorted out by Junior High time. (Some don't even as adults lol) But I didn't know how hard sportsmanship was for middle schoolers until teaching here. Now I know that I have to be the ref so that they don't start fighting and I also need to give them a lecture on why it's so important to be a good sport. At first, I just let them play and there were massive issues. Also, I had to be the mediator in other classes besides PE and just in the hallways between friends and other drama going on. I highly underestimated the amount of drama that happens. It feels like probably three times a week or more, someone's crying about something or someone else is yelling at someone else.

5. It takes at least a semester before you'll know what you're doing with a new subject.

I was so overwhelmed when I started in PE. But by the time I got through the first semester, the 2nd one has been wonderful. The same happened at the beginning of social dance, but now that it's over I feel like I have it down. Now that I know it gets better, it makes that beginning part a little easier. If I ever need to teach a new subject again I will know not to get discouraged at the beginning.

6. Watch where you stand in the gym.... especially during the Volleyball unit.

It takes "constant vigilance" to teach PE! (Harry Potter reference) I have been hit by a ball soooooooo many times this year. The volleyball unit seems to be particularly violent because it's difficult for them to aim with bumping and serving. I think I was hit 4 times in one day!
I also learned not to stand with your back to the basketball court or have a conversation with someone while an intense game is going.

7. Let go of the need to please everyone.

I think I have an unhealthy amount of the "need to please" virus. It eats me up if I think someone's mad at me or I offended anyone. Almost to the point where I can't fully be myself if I'm too afraid that person is different than me. So, the first time that I had a negative reaction from students was hard for me. I had some smart teachers tell me that they'll like you most of the time, and when you push them to improve they'll hate you for a little bit. But in the end they'll remember the year as a whole, everything they did with you, and see how much they've grown. I need to always remember that my responsibility as a teacher means that they won't always like me, but they will respect me because they will see the change in themselves. (Or at least that's what I hope for.) It's hard for me to be compared to other teachers or told that what we're doing is "lame" or other complaints, but I have to remember that they're 13. There is no way to make everyone happy, so you just do your best. They are so hot and cold too. One day they love you and the next you're spawn of the devil.

8. Mistakes are inevitable.... apologize and roll with it.

I was so hard on myself when I hosted my first cross country race and it was only 1.5 miles instead of the 2 miles it was supposed to be. Everyone at the race was really nice about it, and the truth is, there was nothing they or I could do about it anyway. It was too late. So instead of stewing over my embarrassment of messing up in front of my Principal, parents, students, coaches, and other schools, I decided to get over it. There's really no way to not screw up if you're a human being.

9. Put yourself in their shoes.

There have been many times when I am expecting them to do something and I don't realize how hard it is. I've noticed that the students have more respect for you when they see you doing it too, and they see that it's possible. In PE, I can't tell them to keep running if I couldn't keep running myself. It's hard for a yearbook student to take constructive criticism on a picture if you don't take great pictures yourself. Also, I noticed myself having a hard time sitting still or concentrating in faculty meetings or talking at the conference. So it make me see how much we're expecting of these students. They sit all day, have to be quiet all day, listen, turn in assignments, try things they don't understand, etc. I know students that act out because of family issues, and if you think about how you'd react from a death in the family, divorce, or whatever, you see where they're coming from. It gives you a little more patience when you put yourself in their shoes.

10. Enjoy every day and every opportunity, because it's over before you know it.

I feel like this year was over in the blink of an eye. There were times that I had a lazy outlook on things only to be positively surprised at the experience. I'll explain. When I found out I "had' to go to the Halloween dance, I was only thinking of it as another Friday night wasting time. But when I got there, I had so much fun dancing and watching students dance and see the costumes. It was the funniest thing to see them interact with their crushes or have their first slow dance. It was then that I realized that you can't always count the cost, because it's not always about the money. The whole time I was working at Dr. Bateman's office or Prodigy, I was making more money than I do teaching but I was absolutely miserable. So what's the point? Life can't revolve around money. Life is just life, so you go through your day-to-day and enjoy it. Don't ruin your mind thinking about when you're being paid and what per hour and "let's get outa here fast" thoughts because you'll miss all the beautiful moments.

11. Don't judge a book by it's cover.

The students I've come to love the most are the ones I never thought I would. As the year goes on you find out more and more about these little people and what their experience of life has been. That gives you a more informed look at who they are and what they're dealing with. One little guy who's sort of a terror has shown me glimpses of the most hard-working, insightful, creative guy he is underneath all that insecurity. He played a beautiful classical piano peice at the talent show and ITwo students had their guardian tell me about their life and I cried over what they've seen. I think people have all different, weird reactions to change, grief, stress, and insecurity. I know I do weird stuff socially sometimes too. So after getting to know some students, you'll expect more because you know what they can really do. Or you might be more sensitive or see why they respond the way they do. I've definitely learned not to label the "good" and "bad" kids on the first day.

12. You'll have limited resources, get "No" answers, and have to use the backup plan more than you think.

I've had my entire lesson rely on computers, had the computer lab reserved, and then get kicked out for testing. I've come up with really fun lessons just to get a big fat VETO from admin. I've had a wonderful idea for a field trip, activity, or guest speaker only to find out the school won't pay for it. I don't think I had a real sense of how limited you are as a teacher coming into this. I've had to teach the whole softball unit without a single softball or bat. It sounds laughable, but that's the reality, and I had no idea before this year.

13. Consistency is key!

This one was really hard for me. Classroom management is not just being a strict "meaney" to the students. I think it's about setting up a structure and then never straying from that. And it's a lot harder for me than I thought to never stray from a structure! But the truth is, you have to react the same way every time to each thing. And sometimes you want to be in a good mood or other times you've got too much going on to do what you normally do. This hit me when a student kicked a ball so hard it hit the ceiling (which is against the rules) and I said, "Hey! 20 push-ups!". The student was enraged because the last student who did that didn't have to do any push-ups. It made sense to me because I would be mad too. Once I got better at opening up the class the exact same every single day, reacting to unwanted behavior the same way, and being more consistent with everything, I noticed that classroom management was a breeze. Now they do push-ups without me even asking them to if the ball hits the ceiling. ;) lol

14. Don't ever try to use the copy machine before school starts.

This one's self explanatory. I've made the mistake multiple times of thinking, "Oh I'll just copy this right before 1st period. It won't take too long." Then amongst a cloud of other procrastinating teachers, I end up with none of the copies that I needed for my first class. Just use your prep period or after school. (All the teachers want to split after school so it's always empty.)

15. You're never "done."

I think that a lot of people consider year 1 as a learning year and then get stuck in their ways for the next 30 years. After going to the health conference and seeing the way other teachers do things, I've realized that I should never stop learning or changing lessons. I want to keep evolving and trying new things so that I always know that I'm doing what works. Not just what I happen to have from last year. I think if you have the mindset of constant improvement, you'll stay relevant and interesting to them.

Now what? 

Well, now I depressingly pack up my classroom and hope I get a teaching job in AZ. lol until then I'll probably just miss it. Whether I continue teaching or not, at least I'll always know this is a year that made a positive impact on me as a person. 

Over & Out.

-Sydney (Formerly known as Mrs. Graff)