My First Year

By Jamie Nusbaum

I've been spending a fair amount of time lately thinking about the craziness of my first year of teaching.

Where do I even begin?

Depending on your point-of-view, I was fortunate - or maybe unfortunate - to experience a little of everything that gets thrown at classroom teachers. I had a student walk out of class. Another blew up at me in front of the whole class and cried. I had parents tell me that I would never measure up to their child's other English teacher and threatened to have me fired. The list could go on and on.

Still, the unpleasant situations which challenge many teachers' self-esteem were the ones through which I learned the most.

When one of my students walked out of class, I was flabbergasted. All I asked of the students was to get into groups and work on a writing assignment that highlighted the use of voice in 6-Trait writing. I'm certain this never would have happened when I was in high school six years ago (am I seriously using that phrase already?). But, the important thing was that I took it in stride. I put the rest of the class to work, called the office, e-mailed her counselor, and didn't take it personally. As I later found out, there were more things going on with this student than just not wanting to do what I was asking. In essence, it wasn't about me.

Sometimes, though, it was about me. One student enjoyed repeating what her father said at home - there was no way her words were her own. What high school freshman says things such as, ?You're a completely incompetent teacher??

The situation began when the student let me know she would be out of school for a few days with her family. I gave her the required assignments, but didn't turn in the homework sheet to the office since I had already talked to her (paperwork, paperwork, paperwork? always turn in the paperwork because it can make or break a situation). About a month after the student returned, she questioned the zeroes in the grade book. I reminded her of the missing assignments and she left the room huffing and puffing, and as usual, rolling her eyes, but she didn't say anything. I could tell though from the look on her face that she remembered the assignments. The next day, in the middle of class, she announced how irresponsible I was for not turning in the homework sheet.

Truthfully, I thought it had been sufficient to talk to the kid and watch her write the assignments down in her planner. Over the next few days, I asked her to stay after class to get the assignments, but she always forgot or chose to leave instead. I didn't know what else to do - it was her assignment and grade, and her behavior suggested that she really didn't care.

Inevitably, I got a call from her opinionated father. We talked, or at least I attempted to talk with him. The conversation quickly became one-sided, the father talking at me, then yelling and threatening me. After that point, I was advised not to talk directly to the student's father but to communicate through the student's counselor or to have a third party present for any conversations. The lesson here, though, was simple: open, honest communication with parents is the most important aspect of maintaining classroom management. If the parents aren't with you, the student isn't with you, and classroom management goes out the door.

Speaking of parents, I did have parents who told me that I gave nothing but busywork and then later informed me that I would never measure up to their child's previous English teacher, someone with whom the family had a long-standing relationship. In this situation, the important thing for me to remember was:

1. I don't give busywork - there is a purpose for everything I do, but perhaps I need to make that purpose clearer to my students. It would have been busywork if this student had demonstrated mastery, but she hadn't.
2. When you're just meeting me and then comparing me to someone you know and have a working relationship with, I'm probably not going to measure up. You don't know me, and I'm not going to approach teaching the same way as that other teacher.

Looking back on these memorable incidents a year later, I've come to realize these were my learning situations in teaching, and that I'd had more good times than bad. Students thanked me for challenging them. Parents came up to me in the grocery store and thanked me for a wonderful year. One student even mentioned that she felt like our class was a mini-family, while other students specifically sought my classes and wanted to take every class I taught. We had moments of laughter - my students still recall the day I was too tired to look at my feet and wore two different shoes. These are the moments you live for as a teacher; the moments that sustain you through dark, stressful days.

I've found it's important to recognize that I'm learning and growing constantly. I know I'm not perfect and I'm not afraid to tell my students that.

They say the first year is the hardest. I pray that's true. They also say the first year is the most memorable. I pray that's also true. They say that if you make it through the first few years successfully, you'll be back for more. I know that's true, because I'm back.

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Posted October 29, 2007