Letter to a Young Teacher PENNY CLAWSON
D
ear New Christian School Teacher, Whether this is your first year teaching in a Christian school or your first year teaching anywhere, you are a novice. A novice is one who experiences something new and is in the initial stage of learning the knowledge and skills that will develop and be enhanced. Sometimes this is a lonely place to be, especially if all the others around you are skillful and experienced. But remember, all of us were once novices. Every teacher has a “first year”—even if your first year looks radically different from other first years, thanks to the disruption of COVID-19. In fact, even the most experienced teachers may feel like novices again, with all the changes in education due to the pandemic. The purpose of this letter is to offer you some encouragement. Research has documented the pattern found in the life of a first-year teacher. The New Teacher Center studies this and illustrates the first year this way: PHASES OF FIRST-YEAR TEACHERS' ATTITUDE TOWARD TEACHING
Anticipation
Anticipation Reflection
Survival
Rejuvenation
Disillusionment Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec Jan
Feb
Mar Apr
May
June
July
Notice that the months of November, December, and January are when you might be at your lowest. The Center offers descriptions of the various stages in the article, and based on my years of interacting with first-and second- year teachers, I would have to agree with them. Recently a second-year teacher commented to me, “I am crying less this year!” So how can you thrive rather than only survive that first year, especially in a first year that is like no other? Here is a list of reminders from 1 Thessalonians that might help. You have been called. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” Rehearse in your mind the ways God led you to this Christian Educators Journal
February 2022
33
Even the most experienced teachers may feel like novices again, with all the changes in education due to the pandemic.
