Below are the aspects of teaching
I wish I knew were going to be important, but that I only learned about with
experience.
Relationships
There’s two ways in which
relationships are super important in teaching – one is the networking aspect
present in any job, where you will need to build trust from your colleagues,
and the other is the relationships you have with your students.
The reason the same behaviour
management technique might work for one teacher and not the other is because of
relationships. You need to spend time perfecting the teacher-student
relationship so that when it comes time to manage behaviour, you are actually
relying on that relationship to make it work, not the technique itself.
It’s also very easy to get so
bogged down in work that you don’t even want to talk to colleagues and managers
because you’re just too busy. Building a relationship with your peers so that
they trust you to do a good job is very very important in teaching, and you
can’t afford to cut it out. So is wider professional networking.
If, like me, you got into
education to avoid all that businessy networking fakery, then you need to
rethink this, because actually it’s present in every single job you could
possibly dream of. You need to find a way to carry this out without selling
your soul to the kiss arse devil.
Performance Management
Your performance is everything in
teaching, and it will be measured every 5 minutes, and scrutinised in the most
minute detail. Losing your job for poor performance is very easy to accomplish
in this career sector, and you should be concerned with how management are
viewing your performance at all times.
It’s not just observations
either, it’s your results, any student voice type questionnaires, any stink
that’s been kicked up by parents complaining, what your previous placements
have said about you, how good your schemes of work are, and probably a few
extra things that are specific to your school only. You need to get to know all
of them, and then get to know how to look good on all of them.
Note I just said look good,
instead of be good. In order to be good in all of those you would have to be 20
people. Your performance management will all be about proof – can you prove you
are doing good, and can management prove you are doing bad? Start building your
alibis up now.
Support
If you’re not getting the support
you need, for example, if your mentor is skipping on meetings or you’re
teaching more than a 90% timetable, then it’s up to you to do something about
it. There’s no consequences for the people scrimping on your support, in fact,
it’s better for them because they’ve then got more time to get their own stuff
done. The consequences will all be on you, and it’ll be your career ruined.
Some new teachers feel like they
can’t start telling their mentor how to do their job when they are brand new
themselves, or are worried they will rock the boat by not just getting their
head down and getting on with it. You can’t think like that, and you need to
find a way to express that you’re not being supported in a professional way.
‘Off the Record’ Observations
Your performance will be managed,
not just on the formal procedures mentioned above, but also by several off the
record means. You need to be prepared for this, and get your house in good
order before anything is spotted.
In addition to references, your
head will probably speak on the phone about you too, where anything can be
said, so make sure you leave a good impression wherever you go, as far as you
can. Your social media accounts will also be checked out, so get rid of
anything that might give the impression that you’re not a pillar of the
community.
Also be prepared for students
being canvassed for their opinion of you, informally, and for members of SMT
suddenly bursting in on your lesson on seemingly unrelated business.
Some of this might sound pretty
scary, but it’s only the truth. Better you know about it and can be prepared
for it, than it bite you in the bum unawares halfway through your NQT year. If
you want to know more about any of these, then send me an email, and I’d be
happy to tell you about my own experiences and those of the many teachers I’ve
spoken to about similar issues, if it will help.
Are you about to start your first post and want to talk? Email me or comment below.
Related post: New Teachers Want To Quit In The First Week
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