A Little Self Reflection

This is more of a personal update from the perspective of a first year teacher that made it to her first long break.

Fall Break 2014
The first two months of school have flown by... I just keep thinking to myself:

I can't believe that I have a career... and that I have all of these responsibilities... and that so far, I actually think I'm doing pretty okay.
I've already grown and learned a lot these first 2 months of teaching. I think it is important to take time to reflect upon your progress/shortcomings. In order to be the best teacher I possibly can be, I must reflect upon the first 2 months of school.

What I wish I knew two months ago...
but am lucky to have figured out now.
1. It's okay to ask for help.
I have an amazing team of colleagues and admin that really are there to answer questions and to support me. I've learned quickly that it is okay to ask for help.. in fact, it's a MUST. It's my FIRST year, nobody expects me to have it all figured out yet. As much as I struggle admitting when I am wrong, when I need extra guidance, I have been showered with support and affirmations from my colleagues. At first... it was scary, really scary; like, first day of high school scary. Now, if you walk into a professional development workshop that I am in... I am constantly writing down questions on post-it notes and raising my hand. I am so grateful to my PD instructor for always stopping to answer my questions. :) She's pretty amazing.

2. There will ALWAYS be more work.
For the first couple of weeks, I was sinking in work; mainly paperwork, developing assessments, trying to stay organized. I would leave work to go home/Starbucks.. to do more work. Even if I relaxed right after work... I often felt like I wasn't prepared the following day and struggled with leaving work at work. Thus far, I have learned that there will ALWAYS be more to do tomorrow. No matter how long I work today... I won't be finished... and that is okay. I'm not superwoman; as long as I work my butt off and get what absolutely needs to be done... it's going to be okay.

3. Hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.
Things aren't going to go as planned. Some days some absolutely amazing things happen. Your students might finally understand something; they might just make you smile; or whatever it is... it may just be the best day yet. Maybe your plans went swimmingly or you got a great eval from your observation. However, be prepared that there are days that don't exactly work out. When this happens... take a deep breath. even cry a little if you need to. But put your head back up and try again. Remember why you started teaching in the first place.

4. Always remember that you are still learning.
Sometimes.. we screw up. We don't quite hit the mark; we fail. I can ALWAYS improve. No matter what... I can always learn from other people/situations if I let myself.



Keep setting goals and working hard. You totally got this ;)