My first year was most significant for collaborating with other teachers. But there was one very important thing I missed.
I wished somebody told me how important networking and collaborating was during my first year as a Junior High school teacher. Teaching at the elementary school level in Israel, I was all on my own and I rarely was presented with opportunities for sharing except during in-service teacher courses. The minute I made the decision to transfer to teach middle school, I was all alone, this time in the cold.
I had one particularly good teacher friend who acted informally as my mentor as we discussed my difficult groups of lower performing students and together, we came up with possible tactics for overcoming the challenge.
Unfortunately, teachers' meetings were another story.
During that year, I was constantly taken over with the need to survive and carefully observed the management and work styles of other teachers so much that I didn't find my own voice as a teacher. At the meetings, I was silent as a fish. It was only towards the end of my third year, where I began to feel more comfortable and share a bit more.
What I am trying to say is this: teaching involves also a lot of social learning. There will be times when you need to be silent and just observe and that is okay as well. But never underestimate your own light as a teacher. You've experienced things slightly different than others and that is just as important.
If you're a new teacher, perhaps you'll find the article on Teacher Mentor, Teacher Coach .
If you're just beginning your first formal year of teaching, you might want to check out Teachers Network and Share as you learn the basics of collaborating with other teachers. Good luck !
