Dive Brief:

• Literacy teacher and English adjunct instructor Meagan Clark shares with Edutopia several tips to help educators get through their first years on the job.
• At their very basic, her tips include remembering to take things a day at a time and not give up, to reinforce routines and procedures upon further reflection, and to find the lesson-planning format that works best for them.
• Additionally, Clark recommends remaining consistent in classroom management strategies, leaving grading and planning at school in order to have time for yourself at home, and taking the advice and support you need without feeling pressured to be a mirror of your mentors.

Dive Insight:

While Clark's advice is focused primarily on classroom teachers, it can easily be adapted for first-year administrators. No matter the position, everyone has things they wish they had known their first day on the job, and mentors and others in your professional learning networks who have been down that road already are likely willing to share those stories.

Perhaps the most universal piece of advice shared by Clark, however, is to make sure as much as possible that work doesn't go home with you. Everyone at all levels of a school or district is probably guilty of doing this. But everyone also needs time to decompress and recharge their batteries so they don't burn out. This has become a larger concern in recent years with the greater demands placed on educators by more active learning models.