As you are about to start your journey to being a teacher, you will no doubt have heard many things about your first year as a teacher. Most of what you have heard is not true and you will learn a great deal more about your circumstances over time.
So, with so many myths and misconceptions how do you know what is true and what is total nonsense? We’ve gathered the most common myths about your first year as a teacher below so read on!
1. Children only learn when they are quiet
Children are sponges and can learn things at an alarming rate. If you think that noisy students aren’t learning anything then you are going to be surprised. There is a lot of “deeper learning” that can take place when children are talking amongst themselves. Although this isn’t ideal when you are addressing the class if they are doing the work a little chit-chat is fine.
2. You should never send a student to the principle as it shows weakness
Your principals are your liaisons so use them if needed. Just try not to overuse them. If you are constantly sending students to the principle you will become annoying to them. This can harm your reputation over time. To help avoid this from becoming too large of a problem you will need to decide what sort of behaviour you consider bad enough to serve this punishment. You should try to keep emotion out of it so that you do not make rash decisions with the punishment and that you are always consistent.
3. Don’s ask for help from other teachers
There is a desire in all of us to appear independent and confident about any topic that we’re working on. For this reason, we will not ask for help from other teachers even when we need it. This is especially true if the teacher is new and should be well versed in all of the topics, being fresh out of school and all. You may know the topic, but your fellow teachers have a lot more experience teaching the classes and will know a whole host of tricks and tips that they have gathered over there years of teaching.
If you are stuck with how to teach a subject or deal with a problematic student, the first thing that you should do is reach out to your colleagues. The contacts you make at teachers college are a valuable resource that can really help you out a great deal.
4. You should keep a low profile during your first year
During staff meetings, you should feel free to speak your mind and ask questions. If everyone else already knows the answer they won’t be bothered by you asking for some clarification as you are new. This will make you a much better teacher a lot faster than if you are seen but not heard.
5. You can slack off the studying now
You should make sure that just because you are teaching in the real world that you don’t still have commitments to teacher’s college. You need to make sure that you are always on top of the work that needs to be done and that you work hard to hit all of your deadlines.
6. You should hide from your students if you see them outside of school
It can actually be quite fun to see students outside of school. If anything if you bump into them in the grocery store while they are shopping with their parents they will be much more off balance than you are. Just have fun with it and see it as a chance to bond with the parent a little.
