Teachers Notebook

When I first started teaching, I had no one to ask for advice before I first stepped into the classroom. No one in my family was a teacher, and no one else from the university course was training to become a teacher. The only experience I had was as a pupil.

Looking back, I’ve made many mistakes. Some have been hard to overcome, but many of them have helped me become the teacher I am today.

If you on the starting line as an ECT (congratulations on securing your first post) or you are about to begin your training year, here’s my 5 nuggets of advice that I wish I was told:

1. Learn the names of the staff and not just the teachers: Go out of your department and meet other staff across the whole school. It feels very daunting, but get out and introduce yourself, put a face to a name. When pupils then talk about other staff, you know exactly who they are talking about. One of my favourite moments is when children realize that we know each other!! That we actually socialise and communicate. Take time at lunch to stop working and eat lunch with your colleagues. Also, get out and learn the names of the support staff. Say hello to kitchen staff, cleaners, and also maintenance staff. A school is built upon the strength of everyone working together.
2. Learn the routines of the school: You may have classroom routines that your familiar with from your training school, however the students are not familiar with them. They know and respond to the school’s routines. Learn how lessons begin, what are the expectations for entering the classroom? How do you get the attention of the class back? How do you check for understanding? What is the sequence of teaching within the lessons? School’s will have a Teaching and Learning document – a playbook as such, that will outline the strategies that are used within that school. Use them and you will soon notice a difference. Students respond best to familiarity.
3. Get out and watch other teachers teach: You will have a mentor whom you will work closely with; however, don’t just rely on that person. Get out and watch other people teach. This is the best CPD out there. Approach some teachers in your first term and ask when it is best for you to pop along; don’t just go along unannounced. If possible, try to catch up with that teacher afterward to ask a few questions and get a deeper understanding of their teaching.
4. Learn when to say yes and when to say no: You are eager to get involved in school, and yes, you should take on something outside of just teaching. This is a great opportunity to connect with students. However, don’t say yes to everything! Time is not infinite, and at the start of your career, things will take you longer than a more experienced teacher. Maybe look at helping out a club on a term-by-term basis rather than running one completely by yourself.
5. Find a hobby to do away from teaching: You will soon find that teaching never ends. My first head of department caught me working late, and he said, “This job never ends, you will never get to the end of your to-do list.” Having a hobby away from school – a sports team, going to the gym, baking, or simply going for a walk – is needed for you to just turn off from teaching. So, when you come back, you have the energy to tackle your to-do list with enthusiasm.

Good luck with your first experience of teaching, you have entered a rewarding profession where there never two days the same.