If they could turn back time: teachers share advice for their first-year selves

We recently posted a question on our Facebook page: “Teachers, what advice would you give your first-year self?” And while we were pretty sure this would spark some interesting conversations, we were truly blown away by your amazing responses!

Check out some of our favorite words of wisdom:

“Take care of yourself so you can better take care of your students!”

“Celebrate your wins, and don’t take your work home with you!”

“Give yourself grace, build rapport with your kids, and have fun!”

“Remember you never know what a child goes home to. You may be their only safe space.”

Stay consistent and mean what you say. Your expectations you set at the beginning of the year matter and be ready to do what’s best for students.”

“Not everyone’s advice is sage. Trust your gut. You got into this to change one life. You will change exponentially more. Believe that the good you do will far outweigh the mistakes and those biggest frustrations will come with the most personal growth.”

“Find someone whose teaching style you respect, who has great relationships with their kids, and model yourself after that teacher. Ask to sit in on their class, and pick their brain for ways they connect with kids. You won’t be able to use all their strategies, but you will develop a few of your own from those kinds of conversations. You have to find what works for you. Always keep searching, growing, and testing new ideas!”

“Stay consistent and mean what you say. Your expectations you set at the beginning of the year matter and be ready to do what’s best for students.”

“Ask for help. Accept help.”

“If your students participate in sports/drama/band, attend an event and then have a conversation about the event. It does wonders for relationship building!”

And wait… there’s more! We’ll be sharing more first-year teacher advice here on the Along blog soon. 

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