Reflections on my first year of teaching
I was in over my head at the start of the year. I had never taught before, and I had very little education knowledge. I was thrown in. I didn’t have a mentor. I did my best. It was never good enough for my principal.
I got reprimanded, I was accused of things I didn’t do. I made a ton of mistakes and learned a hell of a lot.
I had students confide in me. I had a student attempt suicide twice. I was berated by admin for caring too much. I was accused of having inappropriate relationships with students because I told a girl with obvious mental health problems that she wasn’t alone even though her parents “don’t believe in mental health.” I was interrogated. I was told “we aren’t trying to intimidate you” as I sat in a room with two SROs and the assistant principal. I cared too much. I realize this now and made changes, but in my mind I was being human.
I had a student tell me I was the reason they didn’t hate school. I had a student with dyslexia tell me English was his favorite subject for the first time. I was told I was the only teacher they had that didn’t scream at them. I was told other teachers sit behind a desk and give worksheets and have the students watch videos all of the time. I was told it was nice to have someone who listened. I broke up two fights because other teachers weren’t doing anything but yelling.
I came close to quitting at least three times. I’m glad I didn’t. I was held accountable for things I had no way of knowing. I will do a lot of things differently next year. I will probably go to a different school, but I will not give up on education.