It's a pretty daunting time to be starting teaching. Teacher strikes all over the place, teacher retention rates terrifyingly low, and this woman on the internet writing a blog about how rubbish it is. It's understandable if you're feeling nervous, but this blog post, in a surprising turn of events, aims to reassure you. Teaching wasn't for me, but that doesn't mean it's not going to be for you. I created some of the loveliest memories of my life during my teaching career. Maybe if I tell you what I learned, you might not burn out in five years like I did. There are loads of teachers out there who absolutely love what they do and wouldn't trade it for the world. That could be you!
So, without further ado I present to you, How To Survive Your ECT Year!
1. Behaviour Management
First Thing's First
This is the big one. If you struggle with behaviour, it's a really, really tough year. I'm not saying this to scare you, I'm saying it because getting it right has got to be your priority. Follow my advice and you will be just fine! I trained in a school where the behaviour was exceptional, so I really hadn't had enough practice before I got my big girl job and went out on my own. I'd never had to give detentions before, and I wasn't really sure what deserved a detention and what didn't. Getting used to a new school policy can be tricky, so make sure you double check before you start teaching. Ask other teachers what kind of thing they give warnings for, and what kind of thing they give detentions for, or whatever your school's policy is. Oh, and don't be lulled into a false sense of security. Their behaviour will be good for a few weeks while they try to figure you out. Keep your expectations really high, and always trust your instinct. Kids are masters at lying to get out of trouble.
Relationships
Learn names ASAP. Easier said than done. I'm a massive hypocrite here, I found it really hard to learn the names of so many students, but I promise if you make the effort to do it, it'll make your life easier. There's nothing worse than trying to control a class and someone does something disruptive (or even dangerous) and you can't call out to them because you don't know their name. Even if they're just quietly talking over you, saying their name can be really powerful.
I once had a class who I used to DREAD. Ok, I had a few of those in my time, but this particular class I dreaded because there were two students in there who thought Drama was their time to play the class clown, and their only objective every week was to disrupt my lesson to make everyone laugh. To make matters worse, everyone did laugh. One day, I was escorting some detainees to get their lunch when one of these clowns was in the queue to pay for his dinner in front of us. He was told he didn't have enough money on his account and sent away. I called him back and said I'd buy it for him. He refused at first but I insisted. He thanked me profusely and he never messed around in my lesson again. The other clown no longer had an ally, so he calmed down and was much more manageable. Turns out they weren't clowns after all. The one I bought the lunch for was really sweet, he even stayed behind a few lessons just to chat to me. I'm not saying you have to start buying kids food to get them to behave, I'm just saying when you show you care, it makes a big difference. If you have a student who you're really struggling with, find a way to show them you care. And be genuine about it. You'll have success 9 times out of 10.
Call Parents
Calling parents can be scary, especially if you have to tell them their little darling is being a menace. It gets easier the more you do it and it's an absolute game changer if you have a student making your life difficult. I hate to brag... but I was actually very good at this. I never in five years had a call where I wasn't able to get the parent onside by the end of the conversation. The key is to stick to the facts, remember the behaviour policy/your classroom rules, and remember the goal is to "support the student". You're not calling as a punishment. No! Of course not! You're not calling to make your life easier. You're calling because you want to help the student to make better choices. Stick to your guns, be strong, don't let the parent talk you round. No matter what, the behaviour deserves XYZ sanction but you hope you can work together to support the student moving forward. Be on the parent's side! "Goodness, it must be so tough that they struggle with social anxiety. Perhaps moving forward we can give them the option to do the lighting instead of performing when we do assessments in order to try to reduce this anxiety in Drama?" However, they still do the detention for throwing their toys out the pram in your lesson.
2. Workload
One word.
Prioritise
You might have a brand new form, 100 things you need to do with them, staff meetings in the first week, after school clubs to plan for, safeguarding documents to read, students to look out for, an assembly rota to remember, emails coming in entitled "URGENT", and that's before you've even thought about what you're teaching! It can feel really overwhelming. Just focus on what you need to do right now. Form time in 15 minutes? Figure that out first. Even if it's just how to take the register. They can wait while you figure the rest out. If you miss an email, no one is going to die. If you forget to go to assembly, it's not the end of the world. We've all done it! Just take everything one step at a time.
Work/Life Balance
Try not to work at home. Yes, read that again. During my ECT year I was getting in before 7:30am and leaving at 6:00pm every day. I didn't take any work home (for the most part). Yes, it meant early starts, but I felt much better about the day when I was already a few steps ahead and being productive. At 6:00pm I walked out, and if it wasn't done, it wasn't done. If you are getting into work at 7:30 in the morning and leaving at 6:00 in the evening and you're still not getting everything done, that's not right. You don't get paid enough to be working those hours and then working more when you get home, and importantly, the students are not going to get the best of you if you're doing that. If you're finding yourself doing that regularly, you need to work smarter, be super efficient during the time you are in school and stop trying to do everything on your own. That doesn't mean working through your breaks either, it's important you go and get your biscuit at break time and take time out to stop during lunch. It should be more or less achievable if you plan your time properly.
Plan Your Time
That brings me nicely onto my next point. So you have 10 things to do before tomorrow and only one free. Plan your time. Look at your To Do list and work out roughly how long you need to spend on each task. How much of it can you realistically get done in that free? What needs doing before school? If you're like me and you're a bit drained by the end of the day and struggle to be productive, save the quick and easy tasks for this time. Most productive in the mornings? That's when you get the bulky stuff done. Don't spend your free faffing around making cups of tea and chatting to colleagues if it means you'll need to take work home later. That's what lunch time is for.
3. The Good Stuff
Say Yes! Or don't...
We need an extra pair of hands on this school trip if you're around?
We need people to help with the school show if you have time?
The students have put together a Carol Concert if you're free this evening?
A few of us are going to the pub after work today if you fancy joining us?
You always have a choice. You can say yes or no, and if you've got too much on your plate and the thought of saying yes to something else is filling you with dread, then remember you are completely within your rights to say no. HOWEVER. One thing is for certain, you're not about to make the best memories of your life teaching split scenes to year 9s. The job can be stressful and you're going to be tired. The worst thing you can do is go home every day, eat dinner, sit in front of the TV, go to bed and repeat. It's all I had the energy to do for a while and I was miserable. You might be exhausted, but if you say yes to the extra stuff once every now and then, it might just be worth it.
I remember in my first year they were looking for staff to go on a year 7 residential. Friday to Monday - straight back into work on Tuesday with no break. Even worse, I thought, I'd have to spend all weekend with year 7. Working! No thanks! In my fourth year of teaching I got my promotion and I had no choice but to go. I absolutely loved it. I had the best time ever. The next year I had to go again, and this time I was buzzing about it. I did two weekends away in a row, meaning I worked 19 days straight with no break and I honestly would do it all again. I was tired, but oh my goodness it was so much fun! How not to burn out? Maybe just do one... but if you can find it in you to say yes to these things, I'd really recommend it. Especially in your first year while you have a reduced timetable.
Drama Specific
Last but not least, some advice specifically for the Drama ECTs out there.
Observations
If you are observed by a teacher who is not a Drama specialist, take their advice with a pinch of salt. Here are my favourite examples of feedback I've had from non-Drama specialists:
It was too loud.
Perhaps you could get them to do a written plan before they get up onto their feet?
Why don't you get them all to sit on chairs?
Don't get me wrong, sometimes a different perspective is great and I was always grateful to receive any feedback from people who had been teaching longer than me. However, teaching Drama is wildly different to teaching anything else. 30 students on their feet making a role play is going to be loud. They're getting excited. They've tried eight different ways of doing a scene and it's still trash, and that's ok. They don't need to be sat down writing for this, they need to be on their feet learning how to manage their time and learning how to fail. We don't need them on chairs, we need them to take a quick seat on the floor because they'll be up again in a minute and they need the space. We don't mind a bit of chaos if they're being creative and they're working as a team. We don't mind if their acting is terrible as long as they're confident enough to give it a go and they've at least tried to apply the success criteria. Other teachers don't get that sometimes. That's ok, they do what they do best and we do what we do best. If you get lots of negative feedback from someone who doesn't know a still image from a potato, don't take it to heart. Teaching Drama is really hard, but as long as you've got the students getting involved, you're doing great!
FOMAP
It's the end of the term, the assessments are done and the students have emotionally checked out. FOMAP.
As the newbie you've been put in charge of Drama club. You don't have time to be planning wild, exciting activities. FOMAP.
It's the week of the school show, you didn't get home until 11pm last night and you've got KS3 all day. Then you've got another show to do tonight. FOMAP.
What does FOMAP mean? It's a term I learned in my training year. It stands for F*** Off And Make A Play. Obviously you can't set that every lesson, but if everything is too much and you've got nothing left in the tank, give them a cheesy title and let them come up with a role play and then perform. You'll be surprised at how creative they can be when you give them total freedom.
How Do You Eat An Elephant?
One bite at a time. It's a lot, I know. You'll get so much advice from everyone, it can be hard to keep up with it all! But you'll figure it all out along the way. You'll work out what works for you and what doesn't. You'll make mistakes, and that's ok. Sometimes teachers are expected to operate like machines. You're not a machine, you're a human being and you're doing your best. Look after yourself. Work hard, but play hard too! And always remember that no job in the world is worth sacrificing your mental health for. Your happiness and your loved ones come first.
GOOD LUCK! X
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