This time last year was the day before I started at my new school. After being at my previous one for 7 years I was naturally nervous. If today is that same day – have a look at the following as 7 simple suggestions for starting at a new school
1. Get back to basics: Remember: the students see you as a new teacher. Forget the number of years that you taught at your previous school or the months you taught as a trainee teacher. You’re back at square one and you cannot rely upon old reputations. This for me was an exciting prospect – getting back to basics and working from the ground up. The students don’t know you so build routines in early on. Lay the ground rules and expectations immediately (make sure to ask the students what theirs are of you) and develop your purposeful, yet safe, learning environment.
2. Make connections: talk to people. Get to know the caretaker, support staff and the canteen ladies. Connect with other teachers by simply having conversations with people who are not in your department. Find out about innovative practice in your school. For me, making connections with students is absolutely essential. Talk to students who are not in your normal lessons. Make your presence felt! At lunch time have a wander around the yard and get to know the kids that don’t teach. Find out the names of at least 3 students every day – whether it is at lunch or at break. After a 6 week half term you will know at least an additional 90 students. Essentially, its all about building your Professional Learning Network: whose to say students can’t be a part of it?
3. Attend professional development sessions: continue to sharpen your classroom practice. You’ve got to earn the respect of students and for me it comes from your qualities as a teacher. Contribute to sessions that take place across the year. This is not only a great way to get to know other members of staff but it shows that you are keen to develop yourself. Show that you want to help shape the developments that are taking place and bring ideas from your previous schools / school placements to the forum. Be pro-active!
4. Don’t make ‘a rod for your own back’: A new teacher may come in and have ridiculously high expectations. Don’t shout, rant or rave at students for low level misbehaviour! Make sure that all reprimands are proportional to the level of the misdemeanour other wise the students will disregard you as being ‘over the top’. Yes – the students will test you so expect it: respond appropriately, sometimes with humour, other times with more decisive action, but don’t gain a reputation for being a tyrant! The kids don’t like it and neither will the Headteacher.
5. Understand the culture: All schools have their similarities and their differences and its up to you to figure this out as soon as possible. Understand the protocols of your new workplace. Schools are complex so do not under estimate the dynamics within it. Can you pop into the Headteacher’s office without an appointment or do you have to go though the secretary or Deputy first? Do you have to wait before being invited to a particular meeting or can anyone attend? Talk to the people within your department and actively seek advice or answers to any questions that you may have.
6. Get involved in extra-curricular activites: Your teaching is the priority but I’ve always suggested to NQTs and new members of staff to get involved in, for example, the music production, school football teams, overseas trip etc. This is a great way to show that you are willing to invest in students. Parents also appreciate your time and energy. Wherever possible, make use of opportunities that allow you to build your reputation with parents. Establish yourself as a caring, skillful and socially adept professional who seeks the best interests for their children.
7. Celebrate! You will come up against many obstacles at your new school and they will materialise in various forms. Teaching is often a roller-coaster ride where the highs are high and the lows are very low. At all times however stick to your moral compass. Recognise the progress that you make with those problems and obstacles. Reflect on how you overcame them and celebrate your success. Good luck!
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7 simple suggestions for starting at a new school
7 Simple Suggestions… for when your professional mojo dips in teaching
“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” Wayne Dyer
Teaching is a roller coaster ride. When things are great: its fantastic, but when things aren’t so great: its bloody terrible. Motivation is often the first thing to suffer when its not going your way. Often, a dip in motivation will only be for a temporary period, but the feelings of being stuck in a rut or lacking direction in terms of your future career can hinder your professional wellbeing. If this is the case, as has been in my time as a teacher, check out the following:
1. Understand yourself: Acknowledge the dip in your professional mojo. What do you need to change? Is it your classroom practice? Could it be your approach to your management style? Could it even be a change in school? Whatever the issue maybe, the first step is understanding specifically what needs to change… and then act upon it.
2. Go back to the beginning. Think: what are my principles? Why am I in teaching? What do I value the most from my day to day interactions? What are my ‘big picture’ goals? If they do not centre around enabling students to better themselves then perhaps you need to leave your job. Try and rediscover your passion for teaching. Go back to the box where you keep those thank you cards from students, parents and other teachers. Rediscover the mission that we are on as teachers. Try some the links in the passages below to help you do this.
3. Talk to the people in charge and ask for a new challenge: this maybe your head of dept. or even the headteacher. Ask to make an appointment and talk about the dip in your professional mojo. They will understand as they have been there too. Ask for an opportunity to lead on on something that adds value to, or improves, a particular aspect of school life. Looking to the school improvement plan will be music to their ears. This may be a difficult step for some, but they maybe the gatekeepers to restoring your motivation and professional outlook. Be willing to take a risk: a new focus maybe the impetus you need. The science behind such thinking and my own personal anecdotes informs me that our motivation drastically increases when we have self autonomy. Get that project off the ground and make things better.
4. Expose yourself to new ideas: Explain to colleagues the situation and ask to observe their lessons. Join Twitter and follow #edchat, #edukchat as they are full of great ideas and supportive teachers. Read Ian Gilbert’s ‘Essential motivation in the classroom’. Watch TED talks for teachers. Check out innovative and inspirational teaching blogs from across the world by people like Edna Sackson, George Couros and Tom Barrett. These sources help you to challenge the ordinary and push for the extraordinary – believe me!
5. If need be, reinvent yourself: When I became an AST (wowza: over 4 years ago) I actually felt that my classroom practice had peaked and that I was beginning to flatline. I read this book and totally reinvented my approach to lesson design. My approach became centred around the accelerated learning cycle and its principles of sound pedagogy. I literally reinvented my whole approach to teaching and thinking towards it. My motivation levels went through the roof. In essence, find that something that you passionately believe improves learning experiences and refine it. Become that trail blazer!
6. Consider your environment: if your staff room is a well of negativity then leave it – only go in there when you have to. If it’s full of positivity then go in there more. External behaviours often affects my own disposition and a few years ago I stopped going in my old staff room until a bunch of new and vibrant teachers joined. If you sit with someone who blames everything that goes wrong on the students then don’t sit with them. If you can, sit with someone who is able to laugh at their mistakes or is able to offer support for managing that difficult class (without judging you as a weak teacher).
7. Set yourself a goal and forge a path towards it: I hate cliches but this has certainly been true for me. Consider what you would like to do in the future and begin to prepare for it. For promotion order an application form and look at the job specifications. Look to gain the experience you need. Consider your ambitions: do you want to go down the department, pastoral or a different route? Do you want to set up a teacher consultancy business or aim for a leadership position? Or is it about being the very best teacher that you can be? In saying this, I never wanted to be an Assistant Headteacher until about 6 months before I achieved it but I had always set my sights on becoming an AST. I’ve discovered that having aspirations can work wonders for your motivation. Having a road map for your career is not just about climbing the ladder. Its about continual development and improvement: a sense of well being that hopefully leads to a healthier professional mojo.
