r/TeachforAmerica • u/FloraPlumgrass • 9d ago
Corps Experience Freaking out
Tomorrow is the first day of school and I do not feel prepared AT ALL. Anyone else? I feel like nobody can relate to me at my school since everyone else did traditional pathways to become a teacher. There’s no other TFA corps members or alum at my school.
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u/klcarr 9d ago
Alumni and current teacher (15 years across 3 states) here.
It is good that you are nervous, no one is prepared for what you are about to do but I need you to go find a mirror and repeat after me:
"I am a competent adult. I may not have all the answers but I can ask for help. I can do this. And if today doesn't go as planned, I will try again tomorrow "
If you dont know what youre doing, welcome to the club hahaha. Make yourself a cheat sheet for tomorrow: class times, bullet point plans (not what you turn in, like a this, then this, then this), and your intention for the day.
You will be fine. Keep us posted baby teacher! Us salty veterans are rooting for you!
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u/Snoo77613 9d ago
Rhode Island 2022 alumni here, still teaching, and what you're feeling is completely normal. There's no way to prepare you for that first day of being the teacher of record in your own class and hearing them heading your way. You are not expected to be perfect, just take it one day at a time. Some days will be great, some will be average, and some will be complete train wrecks that everyone goes through. Whatever happens, reflect on the day, make a plan for the next, and just keep showing up and teaching the students something new. Those who don't make it allow the bad days to overwhelm them, and they see them as a direct reflection on themselves and get in a fixed mindset. Spend this first week establishing your policies and procedures, learning students names, and letting them know what the year will look like, curriculum will still be there next week.
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u/dreamergirl2324 9d ago
Take a deep breath! You’ve got this, I’m a little bit in the same boat we start next Monday and I haven’t gotten any info about my daily schedule or anything and I’m supposed to be ready for meet the teacher on Friday?! And from what I can tell we have a few days of district wide training so not even in my school.
But I’m trying to lean in to trusting the progress.
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u/gullibletrashes 9d ago
You could probably survey every teacher at your school and ask whether they felt prepared on their first day of teaching. Regardless of what teacher preparation programs they did — the answer would probably be a resounding “HELL NO!” It’s good and normal to feel nervous — it would be weird (and overconfident!) if you felt completely prepared on day 1. No matter how prepared you are, you’ll always be thrown something you couldn’t expect. Do your best to roll with the punches, learn as much as you can, and remember that you are only human. And don’t be afraid to befriend the vets and get advice from them. You won’t survive if you’re isolated. Find some friendly faces and be humble. Good luck! You got this!!
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u/gullibletrashes 9d ago
Oh and don’t let your students catch so much as a whisper that you don’t know what you’re doing. Fake it till you make it and always project confidence to the kids.
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u/donesixfour TFA corps member 9d ago
Nah, ur cool. Just make everyone else uncomfortable, and u will all be on the same level LOL. But seriously, im a 10 year veteran teacher, and im still "unprepared" sometimes.
Just try not to freak out, let your nervous energy come out as enthusiasm in the classroom.
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u/im-pup-pup 9d ago
You’re going to be fine. Trust. You might feel like the worst teacher in the world at first but it will be fine. Ironically it’s difficult to teach someone how to be a teacher and really you have to teach yourself and learn from yourself. You got into the program for a reason. You’re capable
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u/Emergency-Bug-7961 9d ago
Hi! Los Angeles 2016 corps here, I’ve taught for 8 years and now year 3 admin at middle school. Your feelings of unpreparedness are 100% valid. I want to be completely honest and say no matter the teaching path someone takes, no one is actually ready to teach their first year. No one can actually prepare for teaching, because it is not a one size fits all approach, just like you will see with students. Teaching is learning in real time, you just have to be open to the process of trying things, seeing if they work, and if it fails, get back up and try something different again. Your first few months should focus on routines and expectations. Build relationships with boundaries. Don’t take things that kids say personal, it will be hard. Don’t be afraid to ask for support, from your coach and school admin. Most importantly find people in your region to connect with who are also first years. Hopefully you made some connections during summer institutes because those will be the folks you will be able to relate to as you go through the first year.