Dear First year teacher....

My school district has a very large mentoring program for all first year teachers in the district. We started with a mandatory New Teacher Induction week before school started, were given a mentor to meet with us throughout the school year, and had monthly Beginning Teacher Workshops with all of the other new teachers. Our mentoring program also sent us to see Harry Wong at GCU. Harry Wong Reflection Post 
We had our final BTW last week, and our mentors asked us to write a letter to a new teacher. This got me thinking... Of course, I planned on writing an end of the year reflection blog post, but I decided there was no better way to get started on that, than by writing a letter to a first year teacher coming to work in this district. I am leaving this district, heck, I'm leaving the state of Arizona. And, the mentoring program was not beneficial for me, but that doesn't mean it can't be for someone else. So, I have to look at all the good things, and reflect on the positive aspects that my first year of teaching brought to me!

Here is the letter I am planning on sharing and sending off!


Dear First year teacher,

 First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! You made it! You should honestly, and sincerely be very happy and proud of yourself for making it to this day. You worked hard, studied endlessly, rocked your student teaching experience, and landed your first teaching job! Kudos to you, you should seriously feel like the rock star that you are!
   My name is Sammy Niehaus, and I was in the same exact place you are this time last year. One year ago, I felt all of things you felt, and saw all of the things you saw. This is a very exciting time for you, and I truly share in the joy you are feeling, and couldn't be happier for you to begin this journey. I would like to offer some tips and advice to help make this school year a smooth transition for you. Some of them might seem obvious, or crazy, but trust me, this year will be a roller coaster!
Eleven tips for surviving your first year of teaching! 
1. FOLLOW YOUR HEART/GUT  ---- You made it this far. You know who you are, and what you stand for. Don't ever do anything that doesn't "feel" right to you, or your philosophies. If you suspect you need to change something, find a way to change it. If you aren't happy, own and admit it, and find a way to reach that happiness again.
2. Don't give up --- You will ride this high for a few weeks, fall break will come, and you will miss your kids before returning. You'll come back from fall break, and still be relatively happy. Around Thanksgiving/Christmas time, it will all start to shift. It happens. Even though you're telling yourself now that you will be the person who changes that standard, it will happen. I swore up and down that I would never be the one "ready to give up", but it happened. All of a sudden, I was so burnt out, worn out, exhausted, and missing my family. No matter what, don't give up. You will make it through. It WILL get better, and you WILL figure it out. You can make it to May, and you will! Just keep going, keep smiling, and always remind yourself why you became a teacher!
3. You can't change/resist/fight/boycott the testing! You didn't become a teacher to give tests. I know. None of us did. No one will make you feel better about it, and hearing things like "we all do it" "testing is everywhere" and "you'll get used to it" are only going to make you more angry. But... you really can't ignore them. Especially in this district. I spent almost SEVEN entire weeks giving my kids tests. It didn't get better. It didn't get easier. But, I learned a lot of lessons. I can't ignore them. The first couple Galileo tests, I just plain refused to even think about them, talk about them, or prepare for them. Then, it finally hit me. I couldn't truly prepare my kids to pass those tests, unless I was preparing for them. That didn't mean I had to teach to the test, but I did have to know what was expected and how questions were being presented, so I could make sure my kids were prepared to see things in different ways. Don't get too frustrated, and again, remember why you became a teacher. You do NOT have to teach to the test to have successful students.
4. Ask Questions Every state and every district does things differently. I came from Michigan and had NO IDEA what people were talking about for the first few weeks of school. There are so many different terms, procedures, and acronyms. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Teachers and administrators here don't always know what you're confused about, unless you ask questions. No question is stupid, and if you don't ask questions, you'll be even more confused!
5. Make friends this week!! I became really good friends with a group of 5 girls at the new teacher induction week. I couldn't be more thankful for them. We all worked at different schools in the district, but experienced so many similar things. We were all from the midwest, and missed our families at different times. We went to dinner every Friday night, went on vacations over long weekends, and just had each other to lean on. You need each other. Make friends!!!
6. Keep a journal or write a blog! Write your thoughts down, write reviews down, reflect often, and always record the funny things that happen in your classroom! Your kids are going to be the funniest people you've ever met, and you are going to love them more than you ever thought possible. Write it down, so you can always remember this year, those kids, and the things they did or said. It's also a pretty good way to make yourself laugh on rough days! I wrote a blog using blogger through google. It kept me sane, and was an awesome way to reflect!
7. Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest!!! If you don't already use both of those websites, do it now! They are lifesavers!
8. Twitter Yes, twitter. The PLN I have developed on twitter is the best thing that has happened to me. It is the best and most authentic professional development I ever get, and the other teachers you meet are more than willing to share. Participate in chats. Every Wednesday night is a new teacher chat with new teachers and mentors from across the state. Use the hashtag #NTCHAT and follow along. Even if you aren't comfortable participating at first, just follow the chat, get ideas, and learn new things! I promise, if you use it the correct way, you will not be disappointed. Follow me: @MsNiehaus
I will be more than happy to show you the ropes, and answer your questions!
9. You don't know everything. Sure, you just graduated, and now you've landed your first job. You are the most current member of staff on all the education trends, because you're fresh and new. But, your team can teach you so much if you let them. They will help you, they will support you, and you will learn from them. It's not easy to come in to a new place with new procedures, but your team, and the veteran teachers on your campus have just as much knowledge as you do. Allow yourself to learn from them.
10. Don't live on campus!!  You are a teacher, you will work long days. You will come in early, and stay late. But, don't let it be the only thing in your life. Designate a day or 2 to stay late and work, but give yourself a cut off time that you promise to leave by. I promise you that work can get done, and you can be successful without staying at school until 6:30 every night. Do not stay late on Fridays, EVER! It's the weekend, and you have earned it. Leave early! If you take work home, make sure you only work for a little bit of time, and leave time for yourself. Give yourself one weekend day for you. Sleep in, swim in the sun, go hiking, and enjoy YOU!
11. Building relationships is more important than managing your classroom Yes. Management is VERY very important. You have to be able to manage your classroom, have a management plan, go over your procedures multiple times, especially after long weekends, and breaks. You should never give in, always stick to your word, and follow through with your plan. It is okay to change though, as long as you keep your kids in the loop, review expectations constantly, and give your kids a voice. BUT --- building relationships is worth more. Be a person, not just a teacher figure to your students. Tell them about who you are, who and what you love, what makes you happy and sad, who your family and friends are, what you like to do. Show them that you are a person, you grew up and went to school just like them, and you know what it's like. Let them be people to you, learn who they are, what they do, what they love, and what makes them sad. Give them a voice, show interest in them, and keep those relationships as the school year continues.

I think the most important thing you can remember this school year is that you are human. You aren't perfect, and you certainly will not be a perfect teacher. You will make mistakes, you will forget things, you will teach the wrong things on accident, your kids will not always show the growth you are expecting, and you will have days where you just want to cry (it's okay to cry). You are a teacher though. You are amazing. You love your kids, and your kids love you. You're going to repeat yourself and your directions, and your expectations hundreds and hundreds of times. Your students are going to forget things that you drill into their brains, and you're going to get frustrated. Just always remember who you are, where you came from, how you got here, and WHY you became a teacher. You will survive, you will love it, and you will be just fine!
The final and most important tip that I can leave you with is to SMILE, enjoy your first year of teaching, and love with all of your heart; love who you are, love who you're surrounded by, love what you do, and love where you are! Good Luck, and have faith - believe in who you are, and all your hard work that has gotten you to this point!

Sammy Niehaus
sammyniehaus64@gmail.com
@MsNiehaus