By Dan Gallagher
I am two-thirds of the way through my NQT year and wanted to share my experience and top tips for surviving, what some people call, the toughest year of teaching.
In all honestly, teaching is not a walk in the park and the thought of standing up in front of 30 children whose eyes are fixed on you can be extremely intimidating. If you let them, the nerves can take over, but it’s important to remain calm and remember that sitting in that new classroom — with a new teacher — is daunting for them too.
Therefore, my first tip is to be confident.
Be true to yourself and believe in your own abilities. You may not have that experienced teacher by your side, the one who helped guide you during your training year, but you do have all the experience and expertise you gained whilst they were there.
I didn’t find my confidence until I led my own class. During my training year I was constantly doubting my abilities and looking for reassurances and praise but when I started my NQT year with my own class, the doubt washed away and I began to be myself and relax in the classroom.
This leads me into my second tip: be yourself and relax.
This tip applies both inside and outside of work. You need to make time for yourself so you don’t burn out. The stress I felt during my training year, and at the start of my NQT year, prompted me to seek advice from colleagues and other professionals.
I kept getting the same advice: make time for yourself, exercise (this will definitely help with stress) and do things you enjoy. I was juggling being a new teacher with being a new dad and the advice never worked. If anything, my stress levels increased.
I decided it was time for change. In the short-term, I decided to focus on the most important things in my life — looking after my son, Arthur, spending time with my wife, Sam, and my work. This gave me some time to reflect, to think about my life and work and release some of those anxieties that had begun to build up. Only now am I beginning to add in other elements to my life and have found new interests in reading, blogging and cooking.
Which brings me on to my third tip: reflect and consider what is really important.
If, like me, you think too much, doubt yourself, are self-critical and expect too much of yourself, teaching will become difficult and this should not be the case. You don’t have to be an outstanding teacher in every lesson of every day; it is equally important to be creative, to take risks and to create a fun and engaging learning environment.
Some may say this comes down to thorough planning, and while planning is definitely important, in my short experience as a teacher, it also comes down to being relaxed, willing to experiment and not worrying if you make a mistake. As I tell my class every day, mistakes are important: they are evidence that you are pushing yourself and trying something you do not find easy. If this is true of children, it must also be true of adults — teachers in particular.
How many of us remember that teacher who did the same thing day in and day out? This might have been the best way for them but it most certainly wasn’t for my classmates and I.
This leads me on to tip number four — push the boundaries and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
Mistakes help us learn and will ultimately make us better. Remember: you can’t do it — yet!
Making sure we keep our teaching fresh and innovative is essential. Doing the same thing every day will get tiring and monotonous and the children will switch off. Isn’t the point of teaching to switch them on? To ignite that spark? That love of learning?
Finally, tip number five: connect with and talk to others
It is vitally important that you connect with more experienced colleagues as well as fellow NQTs. Share ideas, ask for suggestions, and work collaboratively on any areas that you feel are weak. This will only help ensure that you add variety into the classroom and hone those skills you feel are your weakest.
Get yourself on social media — Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. Use these fantastic platforms to find innovative ideas from like-minded professionals who want to be in the profession and who want to help both new and experienced teachers. They have been there, they know how hard it is, and that little piece of advice they offer could help turn a hard week into a memorable one.
