YAY! Another private school teacher!!
My experience: For my 1st teaching placement, I taught 5th grade for 2 years at a private school. For my 2nd teaching placement (and current employment), I teach grades 3 to 6 (8 classes in total) at a private school- I'm starting my 5th year there and will start my 7th year teaching.
(Both schools are mostly high-income families. Like super rich- own 3 houses around the world kind of deal. Which is totally NOT me.)
Hey,
So the story is that I am in my first year of teaching at a private elementary/primary school (gr.5).
Than any sane teacher/admin would tell you this is the year that you're going to mess up A LOT, you're going to be exhausted A LOT, and you just need to survive. Yes, it is possible to have a great first year- but in reality that doesn't happen to a lot of first-year teachers.
The first term went fine, but I am finding it very difficult to keep going. The following reasons are as follows:
-According to my boss & mentor, I am not doing well in different areas (meeting deadlines, the teaching side of things etc)
That's good that you at least know what your admins want you to work on- at my first placement my supervisor "worked" with me (kind of- she was too busy/didn't really care tbh) on my teaching methods. My P didn't say anything negative about me and just wasn't honest with me until I was let go due to "low enrollment" - my supervisor was kind of surprised to hear that so I know something else was up. (Apparently I'm a "hard" teacher- I just have high standards for my students
)
Has your supervisor/admin been able to give you strategies to improve in "meeting deadlines" (what kind of deadlines? Like paper work kind -or- need to teach topic A by this time and can't?) and "the teaching side of things" (I'm assuming this means teaching methods? lesson planning? classroom management?).
-The constant amount of paperwork that I have to complete outside of school hours
The paperwork can seem like a lot- some schools will not do very much paperwork or will have extra staff to do it for you or will expect you to do it all yourself. I'm in the spot where I don't have to do much and we have staff and faculty who will help out if we're in a tough spot. So please don't assume that all schools will have you doing this.
In public schools, most of the time you won't hear ANYTHING from parents. Half the time in the high school I was student teaching in most of the kids didn't even know where their parents were
In private schools, because the parents are paying for the education (some not too much and others close to $30k or more a year) they feel the need to tell you how to teach. I've noticed that the parents chewed me out constantly the first year I was teaching, a little less the second year, and a little less the third year- now it's barely any phone calls or nasty emails. And I've seen this repeated each and every year that a new faculty member joins us- the parents LOVE to attack them.
Last year, I had a parent come to my brand new principal and complain about how I taught science. The parent NEVER came to me to talk about it- never emailed, never called, NOTHING. Said parent has a habit of doing this- bash the teacher behind their back, act so sweet and loving in front of them. So you know what: I discussed it with my principal and kept her updated that the parent never contacted me about it and I let it go. If a parent can't offer a solution to whatever problem they have, I don't worry about it.
Please remember: in most cases, parents are not professional educators. Yes, they are educators in the sense that this is their child you are teaching and they have raised their child, but you are the professional educator- you studied to do this and you know your academic subject. Also, parents are probably stressed out- you don't know what is going on in their private lives- so if they react with anger don't take it personally (no adult should ever yell at another adult- but teachers I guess are parents' punching bags). Always be gracious for the parents' feedback- but if it's not true, goes against your teaching philosophy, etc then choose to not use it.
The nicest parents that I have had are actually teachers- they get it and they are so thankful for anything special that you do in their child's class.
-Rotten student behaviour
Blame poor parenting skills- don't assume that even with awesome classroom management skills that you're going to be able to shape up students. Kids live most of their lives at home, so the parents are responsible for teaching them how to behave. You're still new so you're still learning what is appropriate for students and what isn't. 5th graders are really active and want to socialize- your best bet is to plan accordingly with your lessons
You're also new, so the students will want to test what they can get away with- my 2nd year of teaching I had one girl write up a petition against me and made the students sign it and then denied ever doing that to my face (her homeroom teacher stopped it when she found out but trust me- that class lost all privileges for awhile with me
).
-Bureaucracy of the profession
Teaching in schools is no different than any other profession when it comes to this. You gotta talk to the right people to get stuff done. With that in mind, make sure to befriend the right people, be kind to everyone (at least to their faces), and check in with various people if you need something done.
-Trying my best to improve, but still failing
It's your first year... I wish your admin weren't so hard on you. I'm starting my 7th year, I'm still not perfect and I still have A LOT to learn. You won't stop learning- you'll still go to workshops a few times a year, read up on new teaching strategies, continue to learn more about your academic subject, etc. I *HIGHLY* recommend that you reach out to teachers who teach your same subject and ask if you can observe a few of their classes during your preps.
Also- look to see if there's a professional group for your subject. I teach science so I joined the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). I teach a magazine from them a few times a year and have access to their web-site too - that is soooo helpful. My state also has an association and I go to their 2 day workshop every year to learn new things.
This is normal- it stinks but your immune system will get better. Keep your desk off limits to students (keep your own box of tissues too), learn not to touch your face/mouth with your hands, and wash your names as frequently as you possibly can (I honestly take "washing my hands" breaks)- if there's a bug going around the school, break out the hand sanitizer but don't let anybody touch your bottle. I also found showering as soon as I get home from work and changing clothes to be helpful. I'm not sure what your take is on multivitamins, but I take prenatal vitamins with fish oil (I'm not trying to get pregnant- but I thought those are the very best for my body since I'm in my "child bearing" years), vitamin b complex, and St John's Wort (this helps to not make me as stressed and anxious). But please talk to your doctor first before you take anything- they would have a good idea on what might help your system (they might even want to do blood testing to see if you're lacking in something).
- Difficulty concentrating due to tiredness
You need to sleep more then.
I stop all activities by 8pm, shower/get ready for the next day/feed the cats, and by 9pm I'm in bed. Lights out no later than 10 pm. And I'm up around 6am-7am depending on my day. That's nearly 8 to 9 hours of sleep to be able to function for me. Are you able to sleep at night? If not, talk to your doctor about taking something to help you sleep (I take melatonin every night to help me).
-No time to spend with family, friends and most importantly God
This is normal for your first year- you're learning so many things that it is your focus. I actually stopped being a staff member at CF for the first few years that I was teaching because I just couldn't handle it.
My recommendations based on what works for me-
1) Try to come in an hour earlier and stay an hour later - those 2 extra hours will allow you to get a lot more done when people are not around to bother you.
2) See if you're giving too much work- in class and as homework. If so, decide if there are ways to cut back without losing the important information that you get by assessing students. Look into "formative assessment" techniques to help you quickly learn if you're students are or are not getting it.
3) Pick a few days within a month and keep it booked for family. Sundays are the only days that I get to spend with my husband during the school year (he works Saturdays). So I try to limit my work time on those days so we can have together time. I try to see my parents once every month or two, so I try to book a Saturday for that. My sister doesn't work on Mondays, so I'll try to spend an evening with her then. MAKE TIME for yourself and your family and friends- otherwise you are going to burn out badly.
-Stress, stress and more stress
All jobs come with stress- learning how to handle the stress and learning what you really should be stressing over (and what you should just let go of) is important to learn. While I do believe teachers make a big impact on a child, I do not believe that I have any way of possibly ruining a child's life for good.
I have been seriously thinking of changing careers at the end of the year. I am turning into a workaholic with no life (and generally I am good at prioritising & time management) & I've realised that I've never really had the interest in teaching to start with (eg: while everyone was excited to graduate, I was nowhere near as excited as them. I stepped into it because I thought God wanted me to do teaching).
I would give it 2-3 years before deciding. I still doubt if I should be in this profession, but to be honest I don't see myself doing anything else. However, it doesn't help the students if a teacher doesn't want to be there. Have you thought about applying to other schools? I can recommend a company that helps to place private school teachers if you're interested- just send me a private message.
I am thinking of studying veterinary science as it has been a strong interest of mine ever since I was a child & my strengths are within the scientific field.
I was thinking of doing that too as an alternative. My reasons for not: I still haven't paid off all of my school loans for my education degree, I wouldn't make nearly the same amount of money as a vet tech (until I could get a degree to be a vet), and I found out I really stink at seeing hurt/dying animals (I lost my cat very suddenly a year ago and the event still gives me nightmares).
On the other hand, I have been having people say "hang in there, it'll get better" or "surely it's not that bad...you get so many holidays". These comments have been from non-teachers or people who haven't worked in 20+ years. I have been praying about this & recently at church someone preached about transitioning, change & doing God's will. Plus, I've had a pastor say "if work is taking away time with God, family & friends, change careers".
Any thoughts/comments & advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!
IT DOES GET BETTER!!! Especially when you continue to learn how to be a better teacher- but that comes with experience (every day you're teaching you're getting better). I have nearly 4 months off a year- 3-ish for the summer and 1 month throughout the year. I LOVE it- it's my ME time and it always allows me to have something to look forward to if I'm in a bad place.
Plus, I've had a pastor say "if work is taking away time with God, family & friends, change careers".
Or God is asking you to learn how to balance your life with this kind of job. A lot of careers will take you away from family and friends- like I said before, you just have to learn how to make the time for your family and friends (and yes that means you have to sometimes say NO to grading, lesson planning, answering e-mails, etc-
THAT IS OKAY TO DO! ) I don't believe any career (unless it is sinful) will take you away from God though- I'm constantly in discuss with God throughout my work day. I've used a prep period before to pray the Rosary- I can even go into the chapel at my school (I teach at a Catholic school so that is helpful). Bring your Bible in (or a devotional book) and decide to spend 5 minutes before you start your school day reading it. At lunch time once or twice a week, decide to find a private time to eat and pray or read. Make God a part of your life
I'll end this here but I hope we can continue to discuss teaching together!
