I remember my first group of students… my first classroom… my first school. I remember the excitement that came along with the position, but of course the uncertainty, too.
As with many first year teachers, my beginning years were all about survival. I was learning as I went: the curriculum, how to establish expectations and routine, interactions with students, assessment practices, reporting to parents, not to mention the typical workings of a school setting.
Many experienced teachers have shared that in the current circumstances, they feel like a beginning teacher once again.
Learning as we go.
Survival.
I have been trying to put myself in the shoes of beginning teachers this year. They have a class of their own, yes. But some of them have been teaching online without ever teaching in person. And even those teachers who are in person with students are dealing with realities that I certainly did not face in my first years.
Are they in survival mode? Most certainly.
But imagine… When the pandemic eases and schools return to some normalcy, these teachers will soar. We all will!