Dylan Manderlink | On November 10, 2015
Although the teaching profession is not as popular or flocked to as it used to be, the lessons I have learned after a year of teaching under my belt have been transformative, beyond beneficial, challenging, and inspiring.
I wouldn’t trade my year teaching in rural Arkansas for anything and every day I’m reminded by my students why I chose to join a national public service program to become a teacher. My first year of teaching was far from easy and I’d be lying if I said there were days where I didn’t question my choice to work in a public school. But now that I’m in my second year of teaching, I am more aware of what meaningful and unique lessons I learned from my first year and why I continue to love being in the classroom. Here are some of the things I’ve learned from my first year as a high school teacher:
Respect is Earned—Not Automatically Given
Contrary to the notion that young people should always “respect their elders,” I learned very fast that just because I’m in this specific position does not mean I should assume leadership and expect respect so readily and easily. Mutual respect, effective leadership, and providing mentorship are their own processes. None of that should be automatically assumed when you walk into a classroom and I am thankful that I had that reality check early.
Yes, I definitely think that we should always be respectful and decent human beings to each other no matter what, but as a new teacher and northern transplant in the south, I couldn’t just walk into my classroom and assume that my students would blindly admire, respect, and listen to me. I needed to earn their trust, support, care, and respect. These took time and in all honesty, I’m still working on this with some of my new students. Building strong, personal, and earnest relationships with students is key in creating a respectful classroom environment. I’m not just their teacher and they are not just my students—we are human beings and community members at the heart of it.
Being Highly Attuned to the Emotions & Needs of Others is Necessary
Maybe it’s because I am the daughter of two psychologist parents or consider myself to be a very sensitive person, but one thing teaching has distinctly taught me is the imperativeness of being alert to and mindful of the emotions, motivations, life experiences, and needs of my students. The adolescent years can be difficult—especially if a student experiences instability, constant conflict, mistreatment, or abuse at home. When I first meet and start to teach students, I don’t know what life experiences they’ve had, what they’ve been exposed to, or what their daily reality looks like outside of school.
Expecting my students to just leave whatever they are experiencing at home, in the halls, over the internet, or via text at my classroom door is unreasonable. They are human. When my students bring their emotions into the classroom and harbor what they are going through during my 90 minutes with them, I try my best to encourage healthy ways to cope, communicate, and address what’s going on. None of those important and personal conversations would happen if I didn’t learn to be highly attuned to the emotions and needs of my students.
Passions Should Be Shared, Not Hidden Away
Admittedly, my passion for activism, social justice, volunteerism, and environmental sustainability were not topics of conversation I thought would happen with my students. I teach in a rural conservative part of the mid-south and sometimes I approach dialogues surrounding my fiery passion for social justice and equality with more trepidation than I’d like to admit. Based on many personal interactions I’ve had with local community members, there is a fear and opposition to more ‘progressive’ ideas. Sometimes I can’t help but think my passion for promoting those more progressive ideas is interpreted as a threat to their comfort and rural small town mentality.
However, the more I continued to build stronger relationships with my students, the more I felt comfortable sharing more honest parts of myself. And I’m glad I did. Every day I have the opportunity to engage in a socially-conscious and equality-inspired dialogue with my students. From gun control to the human rights crisis in North Korea to feminism to problems they examine in their own community, my students and I challenge each other, fuel each other’s interests with our own curiosity and passion, and think critically about the world we live in and the communities around us.
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By no means am I exceptionally qualified to give sage advice on the teaching profession and the public education system in our nation. But, I have some experience in the classroom and I think it’s important to illuminate the teaching profession more, the struggles and challenges that many public schools currently face, and the lessons learned in the classroom beyond the content taught. I also think the more we share stories of early career teachers and other young professionals who are just starting a new job, the more supported and encouraged they may feel.
I know when I first started teaching I was incredibly nervous, stressed, and felt like my lack of experience equaled inadequacy. Yes, I could admit and still can admit to my lack of experience, but no human being should feel inadequate and I certainly did. And those feelings of unsureness, insecurity, and inadequacy made me feel disempowered as an individual, as a teacher, and as a learner who had taken on a completely new job. So I’m sharing my lessons learned from a year of teaching with you all because no matter how long you’ve been in the classroom, you can have an impact and you can be impacted. There are lessons to be learned from day one. Don’t feel discouraged.
Feature Photos via Dylan Manderlink
