“Don’t smile until Christmas,” “Don’t let your papers pile up,” “Stick to what works. Don’t take any risks.” Does any of this sound familiar? New teachers receive a lot of advice about how to “survive” their first year.
But is surviving really what we want for new teachers? And is a teacher who merely “survives” best for the learners in our classrooms?
Gravity Goldberg writes about the best advice she received as a new mom—and it applies to new teachers, too:
“Trust your instincts. You will know what is right for your [students]. Don’t overthink it. And don’t take everyone’s advice. Listen to yourself.”
This advice is the foundation of what it means to Teach Like Yourself. Yes, teaching is really, really hard—but what makes it easier is finding ways to make it work for you and your students.
On the new Teach Like Yourself Facebook group, we asked teachers what the best advice was that they received as a new teacher—what advice really helped to make their classrooms places where they and their students thrive. We collected all of that advice and summarized it in the poster below. Click on the poster to download it for yourself, and share it with new teachers!
All educators are welcome to join the Teach Like Yourself Facebook group, and join the discussion using the hashtag #teachlikeyourself.
See you there!
