"Through the Eyes of a Newbie"

This is the first episode of a podcast called "Through the Eyes of a Newbie" where the host, Brooke Newby, discusses teaching. She shares her experience as a sixth-grade literature teacher and interviews other second-year teachers. They talk about the importance of making positive connections with students, meeting students where they are, building relationships outside the classroom, being flexible with lesson plans, and accepting that teaching is not always easy or fun. The podcast aims to provide support and confidence to new teachers. Hey guys, welcome to the first episode of Through the Eyes of a Newbie, an informational educational podcast in which we discuss all things teaching. My name is Brooke Newby and I'll be your host for today's show. To start, I want to introduce myself. I'm currently a sixth grade literature teacher and it's my second year of teaching. So I'm what you could consider a newbie teacher. Being a middle school teacher, you really are learning something new every day. I mean, do you remember what your middle school years were like? Yeah, me neither. I think I've blocked those out of my mind, if I'm honest. But all jokes aside, I really do love my job and the kids that I get to work with. I love waking up in the morning and sipping on my Starbucks while greeting the kids at morning duty. I love hearing, can we read another chapter from a student who once swore they hated literature. I love going to my kids' football games, wrestling tournaments, and track meets. But if this is going to be an educational podcast, I do need to be honest with you. There's going to be some parts of teaching that you love and some parts that you don't. But instead of talking about what we loved or didn't love, I'm going to spend our time today talking about what we learned. To do this, I've interviewed several second year teachers who are going to share a little bit about their teaching experience so far and what they learned their first year. To do this, I've interviewed several second year teachers who are going to share a little bit about what they've learned so far teaching. Our first interviewee is Emily, a seventh grade special education teacher specializing in reading and writing. When asked what the number one thing that Emily learned her first year of teaching is, she answers. I would say that the number one thing that I learned was the power of making a positive connection or having to discipline students. The concept of acknowledging them for five good things for every one negative thing they do helps you look for the positive rather than at the negative. Emily's response really resonates with me because it's just so true for middle school students. They thrive on positive affirmation and verbal validation. And if you can show kindness, encouragement, and a positive connection early on in the year, you will reap the benefits later on in the school year when things really start to get crazy. Looking back at my own first year, I genuinely do believe that I had several students who would not have behaved half as well had I not taken the time to really get to know them and make them feel cared for. For some, it may have been a simple yet consistent, good morning, or how's your day going? For others, it may have meant eating lunch with them, going to after school football games to cheer them on, or waiting with them until their parents get off from work because they accidentally missed their school bus. True story. But regardless of the kid or the situation, trust me, putting in the work and developing the relationship early on is worth the effort. Another second-year teacher, Kimberlyn, teaches elementary school, a self-contained fourth-grade teacher. And her answer echoes the same theme. She says, I think the number one thing that I learned is that we have to meet our students where they are. I think it's at college, but it's so different when you're in the classroom. It's a hard balance of maintaining expectations while continuing to meet the needs of each and every student. But it's so crucial to setting the students up for success. I just love how Kimberlyn is open and honest about the expectations she formed based on her college classes and the realities of teaching your own classes. In order to meet our students where they're at, we first have to take the time to get to know where they're at. We have to realize that these students are just more than students. They're living, breathing human beings with real lives and drastically different experiences. In my opinion, getting to know your students is both a privilege and a responsibility. It's one of my favorite parts of teaching, getting glimpses into their minds and their hearts. And the more choir concerts and theater performances and sporting events you can go to, the more of those little moments you get to potentially have. Not only do these things help you understand your students better, they also help you manage your students better. Jalen, a second-year science teacher, talked about how her number one classroom management strategy includes what she does in and outside of the classroom. The most important thing I learned my first year of teaching is to build relationships with all of my students, not only in the classroom, but also things like going to their sports activities, their band concerts, choir concerts, even looking at their artwork in the hallways or visiting with them at recess or lunch. Building those solid relationships outside of the classroom really helps to be able to have that positive influence in the classroom, which in the end helps with classroom management. Jalen does an excellent job of summarizing just how important relationships are to classroom management. What about the planning, curriculum, and instruction? What should you expect when it comes to the actual teaching part of teaching? Our next interviewee is Dustin, a second-year teacher who took a midlife career change and decided to begin teaching after working for several years at a juvenile detention center. Dustin talks about the challenges of teaching a social studies class that includes students with disabilities and gifted and talented students alike. One of the first things I learned this year is whatever you have planned, you must be able to divert from it. You have to learn how to teach a class with kids of all different levels and always be flexible. As a new teacher, I understand how it can feel better to have an exact plan of what you're doing each day. But like Dustin said, you have to be flexible. You have to be okay with making a million split-second decisions each day. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you shouldn't have a plan at all. Especially working in a middle school, you have to have a pretty good idea of what you're going to do or they'll see right through you. But you also have to be willing to switch it up, go with the flow, and make changes. It can be exhausting, I'll admit. After my first year, and even now during my second, I question if I'm cut out for this. Which leads me to share with you guys the most important thing I learned in my first year of teaching. First of all, it's not easy. And it's not always going to be fun. You're not always going to feel cut out for it. But that doesn't mean it's not what you're supposed to be doing. You just have to take it one day at a time. And you have to remember that nobody's perfect. Let the students know that you're a human being, too. At the end of the day, take a breath. Soak it in. Cut yourself some slack. Because before you know it, you'll be on to your second year. That concludes our pilot episode of Through the Eyes of a Newbie, an informational, educational podcast in which we discuss all things teaching. I hope you enjoyed our time together and leave feeling more confident in your calling. Until next time. ♪♪