If you teach elementary school, you most likely think about your job a lot. Like, a lot a lot. I would be willing to bet that those thoughts can be quite negative if you’re within your first 5 years in the classroom.
For me, those used to build up over the week, and would show their evil, nasty selves in the form of….THE SUNDAY SCARRIES.
Yup, I used to dread Sundays so much, because it meant I had one more precious sleep before I had to go back to work.
It’s only now that I have begun to realize why I was so afraid to step into the classroom for another full week. It wasn’t because I didn’t care about my students. Or that I didn’t enjoy my job. It was because I felt like I wasn’t good enough to be there. I felt like an imposter in the role. Every Sunday meant a new week, with more opportunities to get caught as the awful teacher I was.
Can you relate?
I’ll bet that at least one (but probably more) of the self-doubts I’m going to share will resonate with you. You can be sure I’m not going to let you leave this post feeling down in the dumps. Instead, let’s debunk these negative thoughts and remind ourselves that we are awesome and talented educators. If nothing else, I hope this post at least lets you know that you are not alone!
Be sure to download my free “Roadmap to Curriculum Mapping Success” by clicking here.
I’m Not Skilled Enough to Teach Elementary School
This one gets to me. When I say skilled, I mean feeling like you aren’t trained enough to be a teacher. This feeling is one in which you don’t know all the “teachery” things.
If you’re in your first 5 years of being a teacher, you probably DON’T know more than half of what you ought to. It’s my personal opinion that college does a piss poor job of preparing you for the job.
Universities teach theory and tell pre-service teachers that they will learn the practical stuff on the job. The problem with that is that teachers then enter to field feeling underprepared, which then turns into overwhelm. If you’re a new teacher, chances are you often feel more like curling up in a ball in the corner of your classroom than standing in front and teaching.
I think that this feeling is what leads to so many teachers leaving the teaching profession. Schools, administrations, and governments have to do a better job of lifting teachers, especially new teachers, rather than having them fend for themselves.
You, the teacher reading this post CAN do it! You may not know all the things, but you can’t be expected to right out the gate. When it comes down to it, you can only do what you can do. Focus on what you’re good at, whether that’s coming up with awesome lessons, engaging with your students, or setting up your classroom.
Struggling with planning? I created a free guide that goes through the steps to curriculum mapping to ensure you teach all the required standards over the year. Download my free “Roadmap to Curriculum Mapping Success” by clicking here.
I’m Not Organized Enough to Teach Elementary School
I have to be honest here, I’m in my 7th year of teaching and I’m still not organized. There is so much to stay on top of as a teacher. The organization is my downfall.
Do you share this trait or at least the feeling that you are?
I remember starting as a teacher and telling myself that I would get back on track on the weekend. I would say that I would catch up with marking, lesson planning, etc…
Well, guess what happened…. The weekend rolled around and I avoided all work. This meant that the marking piled up and the lesson planning was rushed.
This self-doubt of being disorganized was more like a self-proclamation. And it was my fault.
All this to say, even the most organized person on Earth will lack organization somewhere within their teaching tasks.
If you are struggling with organization, what’s one area you can focus on to improve?
If grading is the problem, maybe go around and do some marking while the students work. Or have students self-grade while you give the answers.
If planning is the issue, set a goal to get your planning done by Friday the week before.
Comment below with your problem area when it comes to organization!
I’m Not Creative Enough to Teach Elementary School
Do you consider yourself lacking in the creativity department? Teachers that consider themselves non-creative (is there a word for the opposite of creative?) will say things like “I can’t think of cool stuff”, “I wish I knew how to do those things” or “I’m not fun enough to plan something like that”.
People who ave creativity envy will often see another teacher in their school do something cool and wish they could do that too.
Want to know a secret? Chances are, that teacher got the idea from someone else.
The truth is, you are creative enough to be “the fun teacher”. You just need to have the internet, google, and social media.
I get all of my ideas online. Whether it be from teachers on Instagram, Facebook or Teachers Pay Teachers, the ideas are out there!
So do not get down on yourself, it just takes time to get your groove and to find out what you like, what your students like, and what works for your classroom culture.
Check out my recent blog post “How to Create Unit Topics That Don’t Suck”.
Click here to download my free “Roadmap to Curriculum Mapping Success” to get get you started on curriculum mapping so you can plan creative, engaging lessons for your students that align with your curriculum.
Moving Forward
Moving forward, I want you to be kinder to yourself. You have something in you that made you get into teaching. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and what is meant to be will be.
You need to have some faith in yourself.
If you’re questioning whether these self-doubts are warranted, ask yourself the following:
- Am I actually lacking in this area or am I just nitpicking?
- Is there something I can do to improve in this area that is within my control?
- Are these thoughts positively serving me?
Final Thoughts
Teachers, especially newer teachers are almost hard-wired to doubt themselves. I’d like to think that all new professionals feel this way right out the university gate. You’re new at this, things take time.
What is it you’re good at when it comes to teaching? Comment below!
You may also like these recent blog posts:
3 MYTHS ABOUT THE BEST WAY TO TEACH AND HOW TO DO IT BETTER
3 COMMON MISTAKES TEACHERS MAKE IN THE CLASSROOM
HOW TO PREPARE FOR A NEW SCHOOL YEAR-THE VERY FIRST 3 THINGS TO DO
PS-Don’t forget to grab your free “Roadmap to Curriculum Mapping Success.” You can get it here!
