Words of Wisdom for Young Teachers

Another August has rolled around, and with it is another year in education. I am to the point of my career where I sometimes have to pause and think as to how long I have been involved in this crazy, yet rewarding, exercise. For the first time, this summer I actually pondered the idea of “retirement.” I am far from the normal retirement age for most, but the thought hit me that I could retire in 12 or 13 years – at least from public school teaching in Missouri – and go on to do something else. My mortality really began to sink in.

A week on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, inspired me to tell my wife my crazy plan. We both could retire from Missouri at 55, move to the Georgia coast, and we could do something different. There is nothing more I could see Jodie doing than working in the Glynn County Library looking out on the Atlantic Ocean every day. As for me, I would have to keep my skin in the game, doing something with kids.

Yes, it is premature to plan anything that far out, particularly with family here in Missouri. However, it struck me that we have passed what is probably the halfway point of our teaching careers. We are survivors. So many of those who started out with us fresh out of the University of Missouri College of Education twenty years ago bailed out for other pastures long ago. It made me ponder what is it that has kept me going. Jodie has spent her career in only two districts. I have been in seven, Hazelwood likely being where I retire here in Missouri. I have taught in central Missouri, as well as both metropolitan areas, Kansas City and St. Louis. I would have laughed at anyone who foretold my future at 25, when I first began, that I would be 43 and an elementary librarian. I have always, first and foremost, considered myself a high school HISTORY teacher. The reality is I am a teacher of children, not of history. Teaching for me alternates between high school summer school and elementary during the regular school year. My roles may alternate, but my mission remains the same: I am here to prepare kids for their lives ahead.

Years ago, at an outdoor cafe on the outskirts of Vienna, I asked my father to distill his wisdom of ministry down to a catchy slogan to put on a pencil. His response was simple: Live a Grateful Life. Perhaps the same thing can apply to teaching. Be grateful you have the opportunity to touch the lives of children, and remember that each and every day.

So for all you newbies (and other young teachers out there), this is Professor Jon’s ten precepts for longevity in this crazy profession. I have not always followed these during the course of my career, and at times I have paid the price for it. This is what I have learned, and my belief is that other colleagues will echo my sentiments.

1. Even veterans have first day jitters.

Today is the 10^th of August, 2014. I have been through nineteen first day eves and while my anxiety levels have subsided over the years, I still have one simple request: get the first day over with. By this time tomorrow night, Day One will be in the books and life will begin to return to a normal rhythm. I had the same feeling the night before summer school began, even though I was teaching my strongest subject and with the age-level of kids I was most comfortable. Teaching is a stage, and you are going out there to face the bright lights and high expectations. More than anything, you want to make a strong impression and have everything go smooth. Chances are, it will. You will weather the first day, and the first week will be gone before you know it. The honeymoon period will soon end, and things will “get real” really fast. Just remember this: come well-prepared but flexible. Your lesson WILL be interrupted with an announcement over the intercom. You WILL have to call that first parent to handle a child’s behavior. You WILL find out that the printer jams, the projector is acting sketchy, and kids will have those moments. Handle it with grace and aplomb, and remember this is a profession of humanity.

2. Establish expectations before content

The first week of school is not the time to jump right in and hit the meat of your curriculum. In the library, checking out books is only part of my job. Before children have the opportunity to browse for books, we must establish procedures and expectations of what our time in the library looks like. How we enter the library, how we interact with each other, and even little things like getting permission to sharpen a pencil or go to the restroom must be taught, modeled, and re-taught. Kids are coming out of the “off season” of their academic careers. Get them – and you – into the routine before tackling the big stuff.

3. High expectations will make kids like you.

I will be brutally honest. I am not a “rules guy.” I have always bristled at teachers who get continually wrapped up in trying to make all kids toe the same line. For years, I have compared my wife’s teaching style to a symphony. Everything is laid out in “movements,” and there is a logical progression that reflects her borderline Type A personality. My teaching style is more like a Grateful Dead show. I have a “set list” for my performance, but it is the quirky moments which drive me. However, both of us see teaching as a performance with an end in mind. Not every kid will be a gifted writer. Some will be lucky to write a coherent piece of writing. That is okay. We all want our students to be successful, but we must face the reality that success comes in different forms and at different rhythms. Remember that our goal is to see growth in every student. Some grow faster, some creep along. The trick is to keep them moving. When I look back at my favorite teachers, I recall some were serious and some were loose, but they expected the best of me. That made me know they cared.

4. Your classroom does not have to be Pinterest-worthy.

When kid come to my library, they see an eclectic collection of artifacts that I have collected over the years. The dog section has photos of my Doggy Hall of Fame. I have my mother’s antique train set, the model of the tractor my Granddad Brown used to drive around the farm, and other insights into my past. It is eclectic, but not perfectly staged. It reflects years of my teaching life. A new teacher told me she has spent close to $500 before the start of school on decorating her classroom. That is insane! Teachers are the pre-eminent life hackers. We cobble together ideas that make our rooms inviting and learn-worthy but it does not come out of a box pre-assembled. There is no IKEA flatpack classroom.

5. Learn who to trust

By all means, establish strong relationships with your school secretary, custodians, and the lunch ladies. They are the ones who will drop everything to open your classroom when you left your keys at home, who will run those emergency copies as a once in a while favor, and who will comp you lunch when you left your brought-from-home lunch on the kitchen counter. They are the backbone of the school. School will function when your principal is pulled out for an all day meeting at the Head Shed, but order grinds to a halt when our secretary, Mary Holland, is not around to run the office. She thinks she is dispensable. She is so wrong.
You don’t have to be best buds with every teacher in your building. Be professional, but spend a few months learning the dynamics of the building. Notice who walks out the door at closing time with a purse on her arm and nothing else. Notice the clique of teachers who come early to school to visit and gossip over coffee in the hallway, not to make sure their classrooms are ready for kids. These people are everywhere. Too often, they are the ones who are involved in building politics, which is my next precept. I talk outside of school with maybe two or three colleagues. We bonded during those days when we were in the building at 5 p.m.

6. Avoid building politics

Some folks live off drama. I have dealt with administrators who welcome building drama because it is a way of dividing and conquering the staff. Others can rise above it and neutralize faction to some extent. The reality is it will always be there. The greatest role model I have witnessed in rising above this is my wife. Her head principal comes to her in confidence and consults her like a fellow administrator. He knows she doesn’t have time for that foolishness. You can’t control political machinations but you CAN control how you deal with it. When someone tries to draw you in, just say “Hey, I have a bunch of stuff to do in my room.”

7. Don’t try to be Super Teacher – just be authentic

Not every kid is going to be “advanced and proficient.” We see kids for seven hours a day. There are greater environmental factors at work that we have no control over. It goes back to the simple goal of getting every kid to grow in their emotional and academic journey.

8. Don’t Personalize Student Behavior

I recall a student who from Day One of Kindergarten gained a reputation for pushing the envelope with acceptable behavior. I saw some teachers become utterly exasperated with him. One would say “How DARE you act like this in front of these other children!” I cringed when I heard that. First, the kid knew this public shaming was just a front. Secondly, it made him feel like he was less worthy than other kids. This same teacher confronted me when I would let this “problem kid” in her class have responsibilities in the library. It was “unfair to the other children.” I asked this child if he knew the parable of the prodigal son. I told the story and asked how it related to him.

“Gee, Mr. Sanders. I dunno.”

“Buddy, if God can forgive even the wayward and hard-headed like you, I can certainly do the same.”

A smile came across his face. His classroom teacher last year kept him on a tight rein and held him accountable, but he still thinks the world of her because she didn’t personalize his behavior. It inspired me to do the same.

9. Put in extra time but don’t kill yourself doing it.

Some teachers can come to school with purse in hand and leave the same way. To do this job well, you have to apply the extra grease, particularly early in your career. There will be evenings spent working on lesson plans and combing the web for new ideas. However, you must not make these an everyday occurrence. Coming home with a tote bag full of papers and falling asleep on the couch with them is not healthy. Give yourself maybe one night a week where you block an extra hour or two at school. Close the door. When the librarian comes by to visit, just say “Sanders, I love ya but I gotta get this done.” If you are married and/or have kids, this is where you ask your spouse to step up and grant this one concession. If you are able to come to school early rather than stay late, by all means do it. Oh, and keep your weekends sacred. I used to bring papers home to grade on the weekends. They can wait.

10. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Pace yourself. The longest stretch of the school year seems to be from August to November. October never seems to end, and by the time Thanksgiving break rolls around, you are so ready to give thanks. You have a brief spell before Christmas, a good chunk of time off to recharge your batteries, and then get back in the swing come January. By Presidents’ Day, you have had a couple three day weekends and know Spring Break is looming on the horizon. After that, things begin to wind down after testing and you see the light at the end of the tunnel. Like a marathon runner who knows when to take food and water along the route, experienced teachers know how to pace themselves even at those moments where you think the year will never end.

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I don’t profess to have all the answers. I can only speak from my own experiences. One last bit of advice: constantly reflect on what you teach, how you teach, and why you teach. There is a science to teaching, and it can be taught. The art side comes from experience. That is the part which makes it our life’s work.