The best aspects of being a new teacher

One of the best things about being a new teacher is having your freedom. Before you were shown a classroom that wasn’t quite yours. So now that you do have your own classroom, it’s like having a blank canvas that you get to paint however you want to. In saying that, for me, I was very excited about my displays and decorating my reading corner as well. But one of the things I was really looking forward to was implementing some ideas that I found interesting from the university, and also my placement as well. So one of those was Kagan Structures, even though every school would do it differently. Some may not allow Kagan Structures and have their own way of delivering lessons.

My school really gave me that freedom to help discover what kind of teacher I want to be. So I really was looking forward to implementing the Kagan Structures and strategies in my lessons, and structuring my classroom to help facilitate that collaborative learning experience as well. I have a very strong passion for design technology. It’s one of my specialisms at university. So now that I have my own classroom, I was able to deliver some quality lessons in design and technology. And probably the final thing I was really looking forward to in my new freedom is being able to incorporate not only the school’s and the children’s cultures, but also the diversity in society.

Because it’s really going to help the children develop understanding of the world and become respectful individuals. So now with your new freedom, you have the opportunity to trying to discover the teacher that you want to be. So even though some ideas may not have gone how you imagined them to, it’s all an experience, and it’s going to really help you on your journey as a teacher. And saying that, even though you’ll have some experience that might not go how you imagined it to, you’ll have some very rewarding experiences. For example, when a lesson or an idea went absolutely perfectly. So everything that you do and all your ideas will definitely help you on your NQT journey.

NQT is loads better than PGCE, to be honest. You can do do loads of things different. You can explore different teaching methods more freely. You can make mistakes without being criticised. And there’s less pressure in every lesson, because there’s no one there watching you, and you know if you make mistakes, the kids are much less likely to notice than your mentor was. You get to be a proper teacher. It feels like a real job. I didn’t come straight from university. I had a proper job before and it feels more like a real job. You’re not temporary. You’re not training anymore.

I mean, you’re always kind of training in a job, but at least now you feel like a real teacher and the kids respect you. And you get more respect off your colleagues as well, which is nice. Final point, you get your own classroom. I quite enjoyed doing it up before we went in. You can keep your teabags and Belvita wherever you want. You can listen to music whilst you’re marking your books. You just have your own little space, if you are lucky enough to get that. Obviously I understand in some schools you don’t get your own classroom. But for me, that was something I like– having my own little hub.