The Hardest Lesson I’ve Had to Learn as a Teacher

When you go into teaching, it’s hard to have a feel for what you’ve really gotten yourself into. There will come a day when you realize that you have to plan a lesson you couldn’t imagine on your own. For me, mind was about how to blow your nose and dispose of your tissue in the classroom. While this was a lesson I have learned in my 4 years in the classroom, it certainly wasn’t the hardest one to learn.

There’s so much you wish you knew before, like: keep an extra change of clothes in your car, keep snacks in the classroom (for the students of course!),  buy a whole set of hair ties to use for their intended purposes as well as fidget tools. 

I got a chance to have a brilliant conversation with 3 other educators and posed the question: “What was the hardest lesson you’ve had to learn as a teacher?” and we had an incredible discussion. In case you missed us on Facebook, here’s the scoop:

Diane Romo

Diane Esposito Romo, a first grade teacher shared that: “Teachers need to find their support system. Find them and love them hard! … It can be anyone- someone from your district or even Instagram that understands who you are going through as a teacher doing all these things on all of these different levels” Diane shared some real teacher truths- find anyone in your building or within your online community to talk to. There is strength in numbers, and no matter how you feel you’re doing as a teacher: you’re not alone! There is an incredible community of supportive teachers on the Classtag Educators Lounge Facebook page. 

Casey Boehm

Casey Boehm is a first grade teacher from Ohio. Her passion is creating organized and efficient spaces for smooth running classrooms. Boehm said said the hardest lesson she’s learned was: “you can do anything but you can’t do everything.” Ultimately sharing that it’s hard to learn how to ask for help because as teachers, we feel a pressure to seem like we already know how to everything best. Reach out to teachers who you work closely with, and see if you can divide planning to allow you all to have some extra time. 

Kerry Smith

Kerry Smith, a fourth grade ELA & Social Studies team teacher shared that “It’s more important about what goes on in the classroom than what the classroom looks like”  teachers fall into the trap of comparing themselves with other “Pinterest Perfect” teachers. She also shared that she has her students create many of the labels and charts for learning to making meaningful connections where students have ownership of their learning.

My turn to share: The hardest lesson that I had to learn in my journey as a teacher…

Be. Proactive. With. ALL. Family. Relationships.

I didn’t understand how invaluable it is to start off the year with a positive relationship with each student and each Family. If you’re reading this, listen to me: take the time to start a relationship by sharing positive remarks about someone’s child– make it your goal to reach out to each Family within the first few weeks of school and share something positive about their child, you will reap the rewards all school year long as families become your champions, and hopefully an incredible support system as well. 

Work smarter, not harder: sign up for Classtag and activate your classroom to create a support system from your families, and show them what incredible learning is taking place in your classroom today! If you’ve already signed up, be sure to go activate your upcoming classroom today!