Keeping Things in Perspective as a New Middle or High School Teacher

I see you, new teacher. You are standing in your new classroom, the desks stacked, the walls bare. Your thoughts flit from planning first-day icebreakers to dreaming up bulletin board displays to learning how to use the copier. Also, you should probably buy some new comfy teacher shoes.

The one thing you might not be thinking about is the emotional teeter-totter that lies ahead. Teaching is tough—and I’m not just talking about aching feet. It’s an enormously fulfilling profession interrupted by moments of heart-crushing disappointment. Below you will find a few suggestions and perspectives I wish someone had shared with me back in my early days.

3 Tips for New Middle and High School Teachers

1. Stop watching movies. I’m talking about movies that feature teachers, such as Dangerous Minds and Dead Poets Society. Movies where teachers, facing impossible odds, rise up to superhero status, leading drug- and crime-infested neighborhoods to redemption and helping young, undiscovered geniuses realize their dreams. I’m not saying these things don’t happen in real life—they do. But more often, teaching is an act of faith: You usually won’t see in a single class period—or even an entire school year—just how much of an impact you have.

Think about the teachers from your own middle and high school days, especially the ones who had the greatest influence on your life. Was their impact immediate? More likely, it took some time and life experience to truly appreciate what your teachers gave you. And you are probably still benefiting from those teachers’ contributions to your life.

I remember my first year of teaching when a veteran teacher, hearing some mythical tale of a teacher making huge sacrifices for their students, harrumphed, “It’s just a job.” I was shocked. This was a good teacher, one who developed solid relationships with his students and crafted engaging lessons. I couldn’t understand why he would denigrate our profession with words like “just” and “job.”

In reality, it’s both. Teaching is a calling, an act of faith. Teaching is also a profession like any other. Teachers don’t just change the world through their students—they revolutionize it. But putting too much of your identity into overly idealized versions of what teachers do can lead to exhaustion and disillusionment.

An exception to these larger-than-life Hollywood portrayals of teachers is Quinta Brunson’s television series Abbott Elementary. Brunson draws from her own mother’s 40 years of teaching experience to portray a group of Philadelphia elementary school teachers. Their working conditions, including lack of funding, parent-teacher communication problems, and misguided admin directives, reflect the reality of many of today’s schools.

The main character, a young, idealistic teacher named Jeanine, is completely endearing. I think every teacher can see some glimmer of themselves in her. What I love about this show is that when Jeanine pushes her ideas a bit too far and chaos ensues, the other teachers are there for her. It’s a beautiful—and, in most places, completely realistic—picture of how teachers support and care for each other.

2. Focus on day-to-day gains. The joys of teaching can be tiny. When that student—yes, that one—finally hazards to raise their hand. When a struggling student shows an unexpected burst of insight or connection. Sometimes it’s just a look on their face—you can see that, yes, this student is focused, at least in this moment. They are trying.

Except when they aren’t. Teens and preteens are squirrelly creatures. One day they’re totally with you, almost annoyingly so, like hyperactive puppies vying for your attention. The next, they will go full-on angsty, barely blinking in your direction. They will fail tests. They will grumble that they can’t wait to get out of your class.

Just keep loving them. Keep teaching. They will come back.

Except when they don’t.

Or at least not in the way you expect. Embrace the beautiful unpredictability of it all. You really don’t know what is sinking in—what they are learning from you, subject-wise but also life-wise—even when they appear to have all their barriers up.

3. Remember, it’s not about you. This is a tough one. It goes against human nature, and, believe it or not, you actually are a human. Fallible and vulnerable and sometimes maybe just a wee bit sensitive. I have heard it said that teachers of adolescents need to develop a thick skin, but I’m not sure that’s the best way of looking at it. I happen to be a very sensitive person; maybe you are too. It’s part of who I am, and I refuse to wish it away. Maybe you feel that way too.

What might be more helpful is, in moments when you’re high on teacherly joy as well as when you are completely undone by disappointment, to look to your students. You can’t ignore your feelings, and you really can’t change them. But you can check your perspective. Remind yourself: It’s all about them. And not just the super-smart students or the strugglers or the “behavior problems.” It’s not just the kids who like you, who call you their favorite teacher. It’s all of them.

Focus on how you’re helping them and how you can help them more.

Then, go home. It’s OK. Come back tomorrow, and begin again.