First Year Spanish Teacher Advice

What’s the best “first year Spanish Teacher advice” you can get??? It’s the advice that saves you time and frustration. Search for the tips that uplift you. Pay attention to the tidbits that you wouldn’t know if someone hadn’t shared them with you! So where do you find good advice for a new teacher?

Where To Find First Year Spanish Teacher Advice

The best sources for good advice are from people who want to see you succeed. When you start a new job, spend some time with your department members, and observe. What are the interactions like? Who contributes to the conversations, and in what ways?

Gravitate towards people who conduct themselves professionally. These people are problem-solvers, not whiners. They are direct-dealers, who will point out challenges and offer to try to work them out. Avoid the “yes-sayers”. If you want to make it to the 5 year mark, you cannot say yes to everything. You cannot go along with every idea, especially when it doesn’t directly benefit your students. After a little observation, it’s easy to tell who knows what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. Those are the people you want to spend time with!

Another good source of advice is from blogs like this one. Those of us who take the time to write these posts genuinely love helping other teachers. We have no hidden agendas, no administrators who we are trying to impress, and no way to get ahead by writing blog posts! So for the most part, you can be assured that whatever advice can be found is truly meant to help!

Best First Year Spanish Teacher Advice

Ok, so what, then, is the best first year Spanish teacher advice that I have to offer? Some might surprise you!

General Advice

1. Your job is not to be your students’ friend. Teachers can be popular for many reasons, but your first step is to build trust. That comes from your consistent behavior, both with getting to know students and demonstrating that you care, and with fair and consistent enforcement of the rules. When you have a classroom that runs smoothly, you will be relaxed and your classes will be fun. Then you will be liked!

2. Get parents and families on your side right away! Give them a good first impression, ask them about their children, and be in regular contact with them.

3. Make sure you believe that it’s ok to say no. It’s also ok to say yes, but choose carefully, and make sure that you are doing your best to maintain work-life balance.

4. Ask for help. No one is able to do this job all alone.

5. Dress professionally. This one may be controversial. But especially for teachers working with high school students, it’s important to look professional. Dressing up makes it clear who is the adult. In addition, it lends respect to the profession, as we are highly educated professionals. And 3rd, we are modeling professional behavior to our students, who we are getting ready for the world after high school.

Spanish Teacher Specific Advice

1. Find someone in your department that you trust and admire. Take the time to nurture a relationship. It’s hard to find the time, but it will be worth it. Write a note, bring flowers or cookies for no reason, go out after work on a Friday.

2. When working on something with a colleague, do excellent work and make sure it’s done by the deadline you’ve been given.

3. Have your non-negotiable classroom rules set in your head. Know how you will teach your students what they are, and how you will consistently enforce them.

4. Have 3 days of emergency sub plans ready to go. These should be things students can do without you that don’t need to be related to a particular unit.

5. Speaking of class activities, don’t try to do everything yourself. It’s a fast track to burn out. Partner with a colleague to divide and conquer. Use the internet to find free activities or paid resources. I WISH I had known about these options years earlier.

Do You Have Enough Advice?

There are so many things to learn about being a good and effective teacher. It is such a challenging job, but also a rewarding and worthwhile career. I hope you have enough first year teacher advice for one sitting, and if you are interested in more details, or the rationale behind any of this advice, please email me! Jamie@SpecialtySpanish.com