“My First Year In Teaching”

Nav Uppal

 

 

As a newly qualified teacher (NQT) who has completed two terms teaching I feel I am now in a position to share my experiences objectively and honestly!

 I have been invited to write this piece for ‘Teacherworld’ so during the Easter holidays (April 2004!), I found the first opportunity to put in writing my experience of the last eight months as a NQT. This perfectly illustrates how little time I have to do anything other than prepare, plan, mark and of course, eat and sleep.

 During my first week it became very clear to me that teaching, as a NQT is many miles from teaching as a student. This is due to the countless new roles and responsibilities I immediately inherited, of which I had little previous experience, never having the authority to exercise such roles, e.g. parent consultation evenings and contributing to staff meetings. Like all NQTs I have experienced the transition from student to teacher to be difficult. It does not happen straight away and with ease but can take months if not the whole year.

 My first term was an exceptionally steep learning curve during which I learned something valuable each day and subsequently worried over how I had managed for so long without these pieces of information! This accelerated period of teacher training has also resulted from the opportunity given to me by my current school to observe and contribute to excellent practice.

 Survival of my first year has hinged upon hard work, long days and collegial support. As not only a new member of staff but a NQT, I was highly aware of my little teaching experience in comparison to those around me, and therefore greatly appreciated colleagues understanding the pressures I was under. A simple smile, well done or enquiry about my day and offerings of advice makes a surprisingly tremendous difference to feeling welcome.

 The biggest challenge I have faced is achieving a work-life balance, which I understand to be a perennial problem for all teachers. I desire a 36-hour day! To stop thinking about school and switch off is something I still struggle with as person with very few commitments and suspect I always I will. I find it a complex task to simultaneously designate time to myself without feeling guilty and manage high quality planning, teaching and marking without allowing standards to slip.

 Strategies I have developed to cope with the stresses of the job include utilising strengths of support staff to ease those pressures that otherwise prevent me from leaving school at a reasonable hour; using my half day non-contact time as productively as possible; developing sound and happy working relationships with all members of staff; and laughing when days go horribly wrong.

 Stark realisations that have struck me at different points since last September entail my legal responsibilities as a teacher; the huge impact I have on the lives of the children I teach; how I will always have the fantastic Friday feeling in addition to the sinking, Sunday night feeling; how very difficult it is to visit the bank, doctor, dentist, post office; and accepting that I will only ever holiday during peak season and pay the prices!

 My overriding impression of the last two school terms and my incentive to continue teaching has been the many wonderful and intangible rewards I have experienced, particularly having my own class and no longer borrowing somebody else’s. I still get excited about challenges I face in teaching and appreciate the opportunity to take ownership of my own workspace and have autonomy in my teaching. Furthermore, I feel validated as teacher when children bring in homework without being asked but because learning experiences in the classroom have motivated them.

 Undoubtedly my first year, thus far, has been an incredibly demanding year, which I have thoroughly enjoyed since it has inspired to me to embrace and learn from every challenge I face. However, the thought of the summer holidays as only 12 school weeks away and the promise by many that no other year is as difficult as the first is very reassuring and comforting!

 Nav Uppal

April, 2004