Novice Teachers, You Don't Have to Be Experts (Yet)

Jamie Hipp

Dear Novice Teacher,

Congratulations on passing the state teacher licensure exams! The countless hours you have spent observing, assisting, and facilitating instruction in your educator-preparation program have paid off.

Now that it's September, I wanted to check in and see how your school year is going. The last time we spoke, the conversation was riddled with a terrible word: can't.

You "can't" keep up with lesson planning. You "can't" manage a classroom of 25. You "can't" make parents happy. You "can't" score well on a principal walk-through. You "can't" seem to turn files into the office on time.

I'm writing today to remind you that you can … just not yet.

I know you've spent the last semester alongside an exceptional mentor teacher who kept up with it all. They made it look effortless. Guess what? That's not you … yet. The expectations that you are putting on yourself (never turn in a lesson plan late, never let your classroom get too loud, never let there be a dull moment) are not realistic.

The administrators in your building are not expecting you to be flawless. They recognize that exceptional teaching takes time and want to support you as you grow. Your principal expects the teachers who have been in their building for 15 years to make perfect scores on informal and formal observations. They will ask veteran teachers to take on extracurricular clubs and never be late for duty. They don't expect this of you … yet.

Others on your grade-level team are also not expecting perfection. After all, they once stood where you stood. They have worked for years on building their repertoire of plans, differentiating their stations and centers, learning how to interact with families, and knowing when to take a "brain break." You can't do all of this … yet.

The front office runs like a well-oiled machine. Staff maintains attendance records, supply fees, medical paperwork, and students' cumulative folders. Your colleagues never seem to be late in sending anything to the office. The front office staff, however, know you can't keep up with all of this … yet.

Parents are expecting you to help their children learn and grow. You've psyched yourself out about not calling home often enough with good news and about that recent IEP meeting that didn't go well. In actuality, many parents are overjoyed that you love their children and that you are on the cusp of the newest pedagogical methods to help them learn. They know you're not going to be the most effective parent communicator … yet.

So, what's a new teacher to do?

1. Surround yourself with teacher role models. Observe, ask questions, and slowly try to incorporate what you've learned into your own classroom with your own students. Remember, no two groups of students are the same, so what works for another teacher on one group of students may not work for you on another group of students in the long run.
2. Find or create a professional learning community or network (PLC or PLN). In addition to PLCs at your school, social media can connect you with educators across the world. No matter what you teach, there's a hashtag for it with tips, tricks, and ideas (#Mathchat, #ElemSchool, #ProfDev, #ArtsEd, just to name a few).
3. Most important: Be patient! You will continue adding to your teacher toolbox long into your career as an educator. Keep a growth mindset and stop putting undue pressure on yourself.

Remember: You can. You will. Just not yet.

Educationally yours,

A Former Elementary Teacher

Jamie Hipp (@ArtsAreHipp) is a preservice teacher–educator at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La. She is the founder of Arts Are Hipp – Creative Professional Development.

ASCD Express, Vol. 15, No. 02. Copyright 2019 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.