Don’t Get Complacent – Here Are 5 Tips For Navigating The Mid-Period Of Your Teaching Career
There's no shortage of advice for NQTs, nor for would-be leaders, say Adam Riches and Roy Watson-Davis – but what about the years that fall between?
Teaching is a strange profession, the transition from trainee to experienced teacher a journey that will be different for everyone.
Although it may not always be spoken about explicitly, it’s in the post-training years where much of your real learning will happen – so here are five insights we think might be helpful to those moving into the next stage of their professional lives…
1. Manage those conflicts
Or ‘live without a net’. Once the training/NQT support has gone, there’s a different quality to behaviour management. As a result, your first ‘solo’ conflict will stay with you forever. As time progresses and you experience different conflicts, you will begin to sharpen your practice.
Don’t take it personally; learn from your mistakes and think carefully about conflict resolution. You will be in the classroom on your own, and it’s now down to you (albeit up to a point – referring up is as relevant for experienced classroom teachers as it is for newbies).
2. Keep the dread at bay
It’s Sunday night at the end of half term. You have 37 assessments to mark, 20 books to annotate, and seven lessons to plan. The dread sets in. You sit and work for an hour – the pile of marking hasn’t reduced. Dear god, why didn’t anybody tell you about this while you were training?
Stop.
Teaching is a highly demanding job. There are times when the pressure will feel too much, but the thing to remember is that you will make it through. There’s that feeling of dread that you haven’t done enough, that there’s something else that needs to be done. But you must remember, there is always something else that could be done.
One of the magical things about the teaching profession is that it’s never ending, but that can be both a curse and a gift. How can you get a balance? Next time the dread sets in, ask yourself these questions: what is most important? What is my priority? Focus on those, and use your time effectively. Will it stop the dread? Not always. Will it help? Most certainly.
3. Focus on the rewards
Teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. For all the hard work , you will be substantially rewarded – possibly financially, and certainly emotionally. Sometimes it’s a smile from a pupil when they finally understand a concept, sometimes it’s a phone call from a parent, and sometimes it will be on results day, when you see the tears of joy as a young person gets the grades they need to get into their dream college or university.
You get tasters of these rewards throughout your training, and when you get into the classroom as a qualified teacher, they are amplified massively. People will often ask, “Why do you teach?” This is most likely the reason. Cherish it.
4. Be aware of the moving goal posts
It all seems quite straightforward during training. Here is a specification – learn it, make lessons for it, and prepare pupils for the test. Except now, you need to be ready for everything to be turned upside down.
Specifications change regularly and often these amendments require a significant amount of rewriting and relearning. The goal posts will move, and you need to ensure that you are adaptable – because ultimately, your job is to ensure pupils succeed and grow.
Don’t let curriculum changes worry you, though. Are they always for the better? No. We all know that. Focus on doing the best you can for the pupils, because that’s what we’re all in the profession for. See spec changes as a challenge or a refresher, not as a hindrance. Be positive.
5. Resist the lull
It will come – the point where you begin to coast. It isn’t intentional, just something that happens. It can be disheartening when you just can’t seem to get yourself out of that rut of tiredness and repetition, but don’t let it beat you. If you feel yourself entering a lull, get yourself out of it before you get stuck.
Be proactive. Ask colleagues if you can do some observations. Maybe get involved with your institution’s training program, or ask to be put on an external course. Keeping yourself fresh is the key to avoiding lulls in your career. Picking up knowledge from others is hugely rewarding, and mixing up your classroom practice will ensure that you continually better your teaching.
Lulls occur when teachers get complacent, and that complacency can lead to all sorts of other issues in the classroom. Keep yourself fresh.
The middle ground is very, very grey. It is a place through which you must travel on your teaching voyage, but don’t fear it. Embrace it. Seek advice from experienced colleagues, be proactive, stay positive and remember – your training can’t always prepare you for the real thing.
Adam Riches has taught for five years; he is currently head of KS5 English language and the whole school literacy coordinator at Northgate High School, Ipswich. Follow him at @TeachMrRiches
Roy Watson-Davis has 25 years’ teaching experience, and is author of the titles Creative Teaching, Form Tutor and Lesson Observation for Teachers’ Pocketbooks. Follow him at @roywatsondavis
