{"id":4152,"date":"2022-06-26T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-26T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/?p=4152"},"modified":"2022-06-21T15:48:35","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T20:48:35","slug":"new-english-teacher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/new-english-teacher\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Survive as a New English Teacher"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Are you a brand new English teacher beginning your career? Congratulations! That first year is filled with so much excitement, but you’re also probably feeling some trepidation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will my students like me? How do I make friends on staff? Will I do a good job? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post, I’m offering survival tips for any new English teacher. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"How to Survive as a New English Teacher\" blog post Pinterest pin<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

New English Teacher Survival Tip #1: You’re Going to Need Help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There’s simply no way around it: you can’t do this alone. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During your first year of teaching, not only are you learning how to teach on your own, but you’ll have to learn about your school and your students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each school has its own culture, procedures, and expectations–learning them can take a few years! And getting to know the student population that you serve can take even longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So look for help anywhere you can find it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What If I Don’t Have a Mentor Teacher?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, you’ve been assigned a mentor teacher who can show you the ropes. But often, mentor teachers aren’t available or they themselves are too busy or burnt out to help much.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try to connect with other new teachers and build a support network for each other. Ask veteran teachers in your building the important questions. For example, how do they manage to keep their students on task? Which water fountain actually has cold water?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you can’t find in-person help, find other resources. <\/strong>You can join teaching Facebook groups or listen to educator podcasts for ideas. Following other teachers on the ‘gram and expanding your network can help build a support network.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I started teaching, I was basically on my own.<\/strong> There wasn’t really a mentor-teacher program in place. Our admin was terrible. We were given no curriculum. And most of the staff was brand new, so there weren’t many veteran teachers to turn to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took me years to figure out my systems, the intricacies of submitting field trip forms, and everything else teachers need to know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I created the Lit Teacher Series<\/a>–7 days of advice for new English teachers to help them get started. <\/strong>When you sign up for the series, you’ll receive an email each day. Each email focuses on a different topic, like classroom management or lesson planning. They all include tips, advice, and free<\/em> resources! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, in the first email, you’ll get a list of questions to ask your principal, mentor teacher, or whoever is in charge of orienting new teachers–questions I didn’t even know I needed to ask during my first year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n