A Classroom Veteran’s Advice for New Secondary Teachers

As a veteran educator with more than 20 years of experience in the secondary classroom, I know that it’s easy to forget what it feels like to be a first-year teacher. It’s also easy to take for granted some of what I now know, assuming every new teacher comes in with this knowledge, even when it took years for me to build it.

But, I recognize that an important part of being a veteran educator is sharing that knowledge and helping new teachers feel more confident approaching their roles.

What I’ve Learned Over Time

While there’s a lot I could tell a new teacher, the following four lessons have had the biggest positive impact on my career as a teacher.

1. Relationships matter more than the perfect lesson. When I first started teaching, I spent long hours trying to tweak every aspect of a lesson plan to make it perfect. This left me feeling burned out and frustrated when things didn’t go the way I’d planned.

Over time, I realized that the lesson itself didn’t have to be perfect—there really is no such thing as a perfect lesson—and that the classroom culture in which I taught that lesson mattered more.

When students feel like they belong to the classroom community, and trust that you as the teacher are there to support them and help them tackle new and challenging content, they are more likely to engage in your lessons, even when they aren’t perfect.

There are many ways to establish relationships with your students, and it’s important to figure out what feels authentic for you. In my experience, bringing an “our room, our learning” mindset creates a sense of shared ownership over the learning and far more buy-in from students than a “my room, my rules” approach.

I’ve done this by creating shared classroom rules; by ensuring opportunities for students to genuinely connect with one another and with me; and by constantly reminding my students that they belong in the space, that they are capable of great things, and that I truly want each and every one of them to succeed.

This is especially important in a secondary classroom, where students will see right through anything you do that isn’t authentic, and where students are more aware of their sense of self and how they fit into the spaces they occupy.

When students feel like they are in spaces that welcome them, support them, and value them, they are more likely to engage in your lessons. And it’s not because the lessons are perfect, but instead because they trust you, respect your effort, and feel connected to the classroom community.

2. Fail loud and fail proud. The fear of failure has a significant impact on the risks students are willing to take in secondary classrooms. Concerns about grades, embarrassing themselves in front of peers, and the impact on future opportunities can all lead students to take the safest path, even when it doesn’t help them grow as students.

For educators, it is important to create a culture where failure is not something to avoid, but something to learn from.

One of the best ways to do that is by modeling it ourselves. Be willing to admit when a lesson is not working, adjust your approach, and let students see that learning is a process for everyone.

The same applies to saying, “I don’t know.” Students need to hear that not knowing an answer is not a weakness as long as it is followed by, “But I will find out.”

My students were surprised the first time they heard me admit a mistake. But that surprise helped build trust as they learned that I was taking instructional risks in the same way I asked them to take academic risks. They also learned that not knowing an answer was not the end of the conversation, and that not knowing something opened the door to further exploration on a topic.

The more I was honest about my own mistakes and uncertainties, the more my students came to believe that growth comes from persistence, curiosity, and a willingness to keep learning.

3. Give students access to important information in multiple places. Early in my career, veteran teachers often told me I was spending too much time creating multiple communication channels for students and their families. They worried that posting assignments in several places would only lead to more emails and questions. Instead, I found the opposite to be true.

By sharing assignments on the board in my classroom, online on my class website, in our digital grade book, through text reminders, and in emailed weekly updates, students and families always had access to the information they needed.

This does take some time and effort throughout the year, but I have found it to be worthwhile, not only for my students’ academic performance, but for my relationship with them and their families.

4. Ask for help when you need it. The last bit of advice is to not be afraid to reach out to your department head, mentor teacher if they assigned you one, and any other educator you trust and ask for help when you need it. Saying “I don’t know” to students is one thing, but getting comfortable saying it to colleagues is also important.

You might not agree with the veteran teachers around you all the time—and that’s OK—but they are a wealth of knowledge you can tap into when you get stuck in how to approach a situation with a student, a student’s family, or even an administrator.

I’ve been on both sides of this, as the early career teacher and now as the veteran, and I can say that opening the lines of communication with the teachers in your building helps everyone: You get guidance as you grow in your role, and veteran teachers get to share the knowledge they’ve built over time. Plus, opening these lines of communication with the teachers around you helps everyone feel more connected and supported in the school community.

As a new secondary teacher, you will face challenges, you will have amazing days, and you will learn a ton, right alongside your students.