13 Pieces of Advice I’d give my younger self as a newbie teacher.

As expected from any newbie teacher, I was absolutely inexperienced and clueless about what teaching was.

My perceptions about the profession on day one were as given under-

➡️ I am supposed to teach through a textbook. Give question and answers and generate good results.

➡️I will be getting sufficient holidays so I can spend enough time with my family.

➡️ Throughout my life I will be teaching students and then retire at an appropriate age.

➡️ I have to listen to an abide the senior teachers in the school until I become a senior myself.

➡️ I am expected to reach school on time and leave school when it is off. This means that my work gets over when I reach home.

Within a few days, all of the above crashed like glass and I had set new goals and boundaries for myself in the Profession.

The memories of my initial thoughts were crystal clear and I they rushed back to me at one go. I didn't even think of editing them before publishing them.

During the initial couple of days I never thought of-

-Growing on the professional ladder

-Having an aim to reach a position

-Teacher student relationship and its impact on learning

-Experimenting and innovating to teach in a better manner.

-Creating and leaving an impact on society.

On my third day when I entered the school campus as a teacher, revolutionary thoughts swept me away in a storm. It was like a new professional side of me was exposed after layers of misperception got eroded away by interacting with some veterans of the profession.

I still remember someone cleared the concept and functioning of a Director and a principal. 

That was really a very naiive and vulnerable me in the profession.

Then started a fruitful and a meaningful journey which is filled with memories and experiences. I am proud of them and really like living them again and again. So while I was reminiscing and introspecting I came up with these  points which will be very useful to every teacher who enters this profession.

1 Managing Time: As I was too inspired to work as a teacher, when I joined the profession, I was totally focused towards working. There was too much that I wanted to do and so time seemed very little. Also my organisation skills were not so well developed.

It is very important to manage time between your profession and passion. To do lists help a lot in this regards. Writing about long term and short term goals also help in organising tasks and managing time.

2. Limited Research: Educators research for teaching ideas and ideas for worksheets. 

But Google overwhelms you with options and you get carried away because of the vastness and magnitude. I used to spend a lot of time in researching because it helped me to come up with new and creative ideas. I used to download images and articles in bulk for current and future use.

Mostly those articles were never read because of shortage of time or forgetfulness. If you do not put an idea to use, it gets wasted. So I believe limiting research time on internet is very important.

One should know the extent of research that is required for a given project or task at hand. Otherwise we  waste time.

3. Sticking to a to-do List Before Hitting the Internet: This is the best advice that I have given myself and have been following it in the past years.

Internet can turn into a bottomless crevice if you are not careful.

Internet is a great tool to be used by the teacher but remember it is not the only tool.

A lot of planning and then implementation is required in teaching. So spending a lot of time on internet does not really help in this profession. Prepare a list before you switch on the internet. Complete the tasks and switch it off. 

It prevents you from falling a pretty to digital fatigue and reduces your screen time.

4. Writing and Editing Skills: I was a creative person and was inclined towards writing. But the quantum of written work was very less. I wrote a 500 words article in a month or so. Now I write almost 2000 words everyday.

Editing goes hand in hand with writing full stop in those days I almost never edited what I wrote thinking that my thoughts and words fit perfectly like jigsaw pieces. Every educator must write at least one thousand words everyday and edit those articles also.

These can be published in the form of blogs, articles on LinkedIn or medium.com or answers two questions on quora.com.

5. High Level of Energy: It is always good to stay on a high horse. On some days I used to be highly motivated and hence my energy level would be high. But on some other days I would drag myself to work trying to find motivation.

Remember-

Action does not follow motivation.

Motivation follows action.

Keep doing your work and keep yourself in motion. Motivation will always be there behind you.

6 Rewards of Networking: When we work in an organisation, we generally  tend to get along with our colleagues. Contacts beyond that are very rare.

Networking means connecting with new people and maintaining a connect until it develops into a good relationship.

Most of us do connect with different people but regularity in maintaining the relationship goes missing.

Good networking skills result into

-good opportunities

-good friends

-popularizing your skills

-spreading and gaining knowledge

7 Public Speaking and Communication Skills:  A teacher needs to be a very fluent and a confident speaker. Teaching in a classroom is different from speaking on stage. Every educator must develop his or her own public speaking skills.

Public speaking has become one of the most sought after skills in the professional world. With people turning more towards videos now public speaking has taken a firm ground. Everyone who enters any profession must be an expert and a confident person as far as speaking in public is concerned.

8 Exercise and Meditation:  Exercise and meditation are a priority. Exercise keeps you physically active and meditation helps you to stay mentally agile. Even if one is missing it will be difficult to maintain a balance in professional life.

Everyday a 40 minute exercise routine is a must. There are  too many options available online. But it is better to stick to a specific exercise routine. Each exercise should be done in sets of 10s 20s or 30s or whatever you are comfortable with.

Some stretching exercises are equally good and beneficial. They are less stressful physically. So if you want to start something simple you can do so with Surya namaskar.

Meditation calms the mind. The flow of thoughts become very natural during meditation. I read a quote somewhere and it immediately resonated with my thoughts-

“If the ocean can calm itself then why not you. Both have water and salt mixed in their bodies.”

With exercise and meditation focus stays on the path and professional growth becomes easier.

9 Healthy Diet: For most of us food intake takes a backseat when work is concerned. If you have not organised your time well, then you think of skipping meals to complete work.

One should also be mindful while eating food. Research proves that the nutrients are absorbed well by the body if we are mindful of the food we eat. During my career I have seen educator's coming to school without breakfast.

 The two hours of the morning in a school are very important time.

They are also full of activity which requires everyone to be on their toes. Prayer and assembly time is generally packed with a lot of things happening on stage and off stage. 

Students also turn up to school without eating anything and quite a few fall down unconscious. We are all aware of this happening in the school. 

If the teacher arrives with food in the stomach he she can take care of children and handle them better.

If a teacher comes to school with an empty stomach her only focus is to find time to eat something. So make it a golden rule to never leave the house without putting something stuffy in your stomach.

10 Learning Disabilities and Behaviour Issues: A large chunk of learning is achieved by understanding the psychology of the students.  There are many concerns among the students related to learning disabilities and behaviour issues. 

Research papers and blogs are available on the internet. Every teacher must read these to understand the issues and concerns revolving around children. I often say that behaviour is a reflection of the anxiety that the child is feeling or going through. Behaviour changes or improves when the troubling issue is tackled or dealt with properly.

Experience teaches us a lot but awareness equips you with tools to deal with the situation. Knowing the psychological concerns of the children will help the teachers to control the threatening triggers which cause behaviour problems.

Teaching and learning is more of a psychological process. Hence teachers must self educate themselves on these topics. The school counsellor is also of great help. Case studies of issues with children and how teachers dealt with them are also available on the Internet and they can throw light on many aspects.

Caution: Do not try to see the problems which you have read among your students. Take expert advice before jumping to a conclusion.

11 Be a Good Listener: Some of the educators are in a hyperactive mode expressing an ‘I Know It all attitude'. It is good to be well versed about the needs of the profession. But nothing can be compared to practical experience. The people who are already in the organisation are thoroughbreds as far as the working of the organisation is concerned

These veterans of the profession often giveaway titbits related to the profession and they must be considered as useful handy hints. To understand the value of these gems one needs to be a good listener.

There are many advantages of being a good listener. You become aware of certain systems which are an integral part of the organisation. There are deadlines for many of these systems. There are submissions to be done. you will be able to foresee all of these and be better prepared to deliver the submission on time.

12 The Art of Saying NO:

If you set your priorities you will know  which projects you should take as a leader and where you should act as an assistant. Everything cannot be done by a person.

Apart from individual work a teacher is expected to assist and be part of group projects. Group projects between staff members need collaboration and coordination. Hence it requires time and creativity. So it is always advisable to join in projects which cover your areas of interest and say a subtle NO to the ones which are out of your interest area.

13 Define Limits as far as Self Learning is Concerned:

'Learning is a lifelong journey' This statement has been viral since the pandemic started.  Everyone is running after certification programs and trying to score a point above everyone else. Too much learning does not result into proper actions and hence the result is not a productive one. It is good to take up a skill or two but not more than that.

Find ways to implement the knowledge that you already have. Experiment with ideas. 

Perform, then fail, then learn from your failure and perform again

Take honest and crucial feedback upon the work that you are doing. Do not be afraid of the criticism that you receive. Pick up the points which are relevant and push yourself on the path again

These are some of the points which I have picked after a thoughtful deliberation

 They can add a lot of value to the educators who are aiming to start their professional career as a school teacher.

9 Quotes to help you Eat That Frog!

Picture Credit: Toodledo.com

Eat the frog is a common quote used these days to push complacent people towards working. Nothing gets done without work. Action is the key to results. The more the action, the better results.

But procrastination has really pulled down people. Postponing today’s task to tomorrow and then to day after tomorrow has become the new normal for everyone. Pandemic has brought in more blues for people and the situation has turned into a worst one.

Eat the frog refers to that one important task which should be done by an individual which is important for him rather than urgent. People know about the important tasks but do not wish to do anything about it.

This happens because that important task pushes us into an uncomfortable zone. Our mind is not willing to accept that and so we refuse to eat that frog.

Ideally, the frog should be eaten for breakfast because the willpower and determination is much higher in the morning. So the chances of getting the work done are far better. Also we should understand the difference between important tasks and urgent tasks.

Important tasks will help in your long term goals. 

Urgent tasks are focused towards short term goals.

For example if you want to write a book then you must make it a habit of writing at least a couple of thousand words everyday. 

This is an important task.

But if you are an amateur writer then you might avoid hitting the target of a couple of thousand words. So this would be the frog that you must eat everyday. If you are not doing it and postponing it  for future then you are definitely suffering from procrastination.

Since the advent of social media, quotes is a popular way of reading and sending messages. Different aspects of life can be understood, motivation and inspiration can be derived from these quotes.

Hence people believe in reading and sharing quotes. Sometimes one can also read the mind set of the person sending you the quotes or displaying on the status, stories etc. 

Hence I chose quotes because they have often pushed me beyond limits upscaling my performance and expectations in the past.

Every one of us  go through the quotes that we receive every morning as good morning messages. We read them once and put it at the back of the mind for the rest of the life. A good idea would be to keep a collection of it as an album and keep reading them over a period of time.

This is what I do to keep myself motivated and inspired.

Just being lazy does not relate to procrastination. It is the idea of postponing things in the future to avoid a bit of discomfort in the present.

So here is my list which helps me keep procrastination at a hand's distance away.

1. This particular quote is given by Stephen King. He has written 86 bookd in his lifetime.

Imagine the amount of work and time he has put in. According to him we cannot wait for inspiration. We need to act. Action brings inspiration. It is not the other way around.

If your desire to achieve your aims is high and real, then you should not wait for inspiration. Start taking action towards your goal. Inspiration will help you keep going on the path. 

Remove all the uncertainty that you have. Start working.

2. There are many creative visualisation pictures which you might have seen in the advertisements. Imagine one such  visual where the mosquitoes are driven away with the mosquito repellent. Similarly action destroys or drives away procrastination.

Start working. Action is the driving force which will keep your mind occupied with what has to be done next. Hence it won't let procrastination settle like dust on the windowsill.

3. This one is my favourite. Mind is a producing outlet. It produces ideas continuously. But you will have to put them into action.

Mind is not a storage vault for the ideas that are produced. The ideas have to be pushed down the assembly line to reach the final stage of a completed product.

Hence many times a good productive idea comes to your mind but you quickly forget about it.

This happens because the ideas do not stay stored in your mind for a long time. According to research after three or four seconds the idea will vanish if you do not take an action upon it.

Putting ideas into action takes time so what should be done in the meantime?

Write each idea down in a diary. all the creative thoughts should be penned down if you want to take action on it.

4. How does an artist complete a portrait?

He starts with sketching the framework or an outline. Then he gradually fills it. Similarly every project and activity has to be broken down into simple and small steps.

It is easier to take one step at a time rather than jumping two or three steps together.

Breaking down the idea into small steps helps to see the goal as achievable. 

5. Procrastination and overthinking are best friends. These two companions hate the company of action.

Imagine you plan to start something new. Thoughts proceed action. 

If they are positive and constructive, you will start acting and producing results

If you are not confident that these thoughts can be converted into fruitful output, then the thoughts will keep you in the procrastination mode.

The idea of a project is exciting. But when you think too much about it the same idea turns into a dull and boring monster which tries to scare you away from action by making the task look extremely difficult for you to handle.

Hence procrastination will easily make the easiest task look extremely difficult.

6. This particular quote is my favourite. Fear is the main villain or the reason behind most people who consider themselves as unsuccessful.

Fear, hesitation and people's opinion do not let you move ahead. Fear creates an illusion in your mind which does not let you step out of your comfort zone.

Fear cripples you.

Fear holds you back.

Fear paralyzes you into inaction.

Fear pushes you to think negative thoughts.

Fear clips your wings.

Fear cuts down your motivation levels to zero.

Don't let fear grip you and strangle you.

Allow action to strangle your fear instead.

7. All of us use credit cards and we know its repayment cost.

While on a purchasing spree we do not realise the cost. And while paying the bill we sweat.

Procrastination works on the same principle. If you do not act properly at the proper time you have to pay a heavy cost later on.

8. As I said earlier procrastination creates an illusion. Hence we keep postponing our tasks to tomorrow. We feel that tomorrow would be a beautiful day but unfortunately that tomorrow never comes.

9. This quote hits the nail on its head. Look back in the past one year. Think about all the new year resolutions that you have taken and they were forgotten within a few days time.

Drop everything and start working on whatever you think is important in your life.

Don’t go after urgent tasks. Focus on important tasks which are for long term.

Procrastination is the enemy of action and success 

Keep such quotes handy.  Whenever you feel you are bogged by inaction you can read them.

Fuel yourself with action and motivation will follow.