As a beginning teacher you are met with a range of emotions from the moment you accept your contract. The phases as a new teacher can be overwhelming at times, while at times you will still feel these emotions throughout the year, I promise it gets easier. Your first year is layered with emotion from anticipation to disillusionment but can also be the most rewarding and transformative. While sometimes you may feel like you are BARELY above water, it is important to acknowledge the phases of emotions common throughout your first year(s) as a teacher. The most important thing to remember is to BREATH, you will get through these tough phases and it will make you a stronger person as well as teacher.
The most important thing to remember is to BREATH
While my phases are slightly different than the picture, I believe they bring in strong strategies that can help not only survive but thrive. Check out this other source for more tales of new teacher phases.
Phase One: Anticipation
Once signing your contract, you will be thrown into the classroom, as many of us get only days to prepare. This early mindset is full of anticipation, imagining what your classroom will be like, wondering who your students will be, and pondering what kind of teacher you want to become. You might feel pressure to be perfect or to have everything ready. REALITY CHECK – NO ONE IS READY. The key thing to remember during this phase is while this is an idealistic notion of your class, it is perfectly normal. In my opinion, this is the best phase to organize yourself for the year ahead becuase you are already anticipating the coming year, what better time to plan it. Check out this post on how to build your year plan.
Phase Two: Excitement
In my opinion, this phase is the best. Maybe you have met your fellow teachers or even your students and you get a rush of excitement flowing through your body. You have all these great ideas, passion and energy mixed with a strong sense of purpose. This is the moment when you feel you get to make a difference – to build your classroom based on what YOU want for your students. This optimism is important to capture as much as you can. There will be harder days ahead.
Phase Three: Survival
Once the excitement wears off, reality starts to set in. The balancing of endless tasks, surprise challenges, or struggles with behaviours starts to build. Feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion start to creep into the fray. Don’t worry THIS IS NORMAL. Even seasoned veteran teachers feel this way at times. The emotional ups and downs of constantly adapting can be taxing but that doesn’t mean you are failing. Having your year plan already outlined for you can really help you navigate this feeling of survival. Check out this post to help you build this into your year.
Phase Four: Head-Spinning
Now you are in the thick of teaching. You are constantly treading water and sometimes feeling like you are drowning. The list of things to do, assess, or plan seems to be never-ending. Imposter syndrome sets in and you feel like you are not supposed to be there. BUT let’s be real, think of all the new things you are learning all at once. YOU GOT THIS. This is you building your capacity for the job.
Phase Five: Pacing
Now you have made it through the hardest of the phases, while it is not always smooth sailing it is easier to manage. PACE YOURSELF. As a teacher there is ALWAYS SOMETHING TO DO. Give yourself some grace and take a couple of things off your list every day and leave the rest. Sometimes the list of things to do can feel overwhelming, especially in September, but You HAVE TO TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF and your family to reset. This is the phase where you start to see patterns in your work habits, predict the needs/rate of the class, and begin to see how you can manage your time more effectively. Remember to keep a steady pace, don’t overwork yourself, try to manage your time with intention rather than reaction. Check out this post on batch planning for more information.
Phase Six: Setting Up Systems
Once you begin to recognize patterns in your needs/rate as a class you enter the final phase, to set up systems for yourself. Secure your routines, create templates (from your week schedule to your phonics activity). Plan your week on a certain day, prep on another, mark student work on the weekend if it works for you. Remember to keep a copy of everything you liked as you reflected on your lessons, this will help ease your work for next year. This phase is all about finding methods to streamline your work, transform stress into sustainability and make progress towards the finite balance of work-life.
Again, these phases are NOT LINEAR you might even feel many of them throughout the day, but overall, I hope you know how normal these phases are for new teachers. Even seasoned educators still feel overwhelmed and like they are just surviving at times, the goal is not to rid yourself of these emotions but rather acknowledge and prepare for them. Remember yes, they are painful phases, but it also means you are growing. Like always, I am here for you if you need someone, you just have to reach out. BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION.