As I approach the end of my fifth year as a teacher, I've been reflecting on my journey so far quite a lot. I've experienced numerous insights and lessons, from the importance of setting clear expectations at the outset to the power of listening more and talking less in the classroom. However, among these realisations, some have resonated with me more than others.

1. Building Relationships with Those You Rub Shoulders with Most, Comes First

As I approach my sixth year as a teacher, I've come to realise that prioritising positive relationships with the people I interact with most, my students and colleagues, is paramount. It's easy to become distracted by trying to please everyone, including school leaders, but the most significant impact comes from fostering strong connections within my immediate circles. Developing meaningful relationships with students, colleagues, and parents is most important. Your immediate team and colleagues will be your crutch to lean on for support and will be there to empathise with you on the hard days. These people will be your rock and you need their support. Early in my career, I might have underestimated the importance of these relationships, but over time I've realised their profound impact on both my teaching and job satisfaction.

2. Pick Your Battles

Protecting your focus and energy is very important. This means making conscious decisions about where to direct your attention and effort. Whether it is identifying which student behaviours require intervention and which can be overlooked, or choosing when and how to address issues with colleagues or senior leaders, the ability to pick your battles wisely is crucial.

Imagine a scenario where a student decides not to engage with an optional activity on the last day of term, instead deciding to doodle. Recognising that the activity is low-stakes and intended as soft work during a winding-down period, it becomes apparent that escalating this situation into a conflict is unnecessary. By letting this minor behaviour slide, you conserve valuable energy and maintain a positive classroom atmosphere.

Similarly, consider a situation where a colleague organises a lunch outing without extending an invitation to you. While it may initially sting, pausing to assess the situation reveals that this oversight likely wasn't intentional or personal. Choosing not to confront them about it allows you to preserve your focus on more impactful aspects of your work.

Picking your battles isn't about avoiding all challenges or conflicts, but more so about prioritising where your energy is spent.

3. Assume Your Children Know Nothing, and Everything!

One comment some of my colleagues have made in the past that they had come to realise as teachers, is that we must be prepared for children to know nothing and everything! We, as educators, bring expertise in our subject matter but must simplify complex concepts for students with varying levels of prior knowledge. This involves scaffolding learning from basics to more advanced topics. Creating a supportive classroom where questions are welcomed fosters a culture of learning. One model I always go by to know how I can best prepare my formative assessment questioning and the children's activity levels is the Solo Taxonomy Model. Understanding the curriculum helps anticipate needs and adjust teaching methods flexibly, ensuring every student is appropriately challenged and supported.

4. Self-Care Isn't Just a Buzz Word

Teaching is emotionally, mentally and physically demanding and you are not expected to deny that fact out of feeling guilty for not being an 'educational rockstar' or 'superhero'. We're human, with limits and the need for proper self-care, just like everyone else. Understanding that we only have so many spoons to spend each day, some of us taking more spoons on certain tasks than others (Check out the spoon theory!), has been a significant learning curve for me. Keeping a journal has been especially helpful; writing down daily personal tasks like drinking enough water or getting my steps in has made me more accountable and likely to follow through. Effective time management is also key. Instead of idling away free periods wandering or venting, I've learned to utilise that time efficiently while in the workspace for work-related tasks. I am not saying that I do not sometimes need to work later, but I always do this in work and try to never take work home into my personal space. This strategy ensures that my personal time is for meaningful activities, my personal space does not turn into a workspace, and I can ensure self-care is a priority as soon as my workday finishes.

5. Experience Comes with... Experience

I have come to realise that experience truly does come from experience itself and there is no way of cheating this fact. It's a journey where we often find ourselves surrounded by colleagues who have been teaching for varying lengths of time. I remember coming out of college from completing my masters, and seeing teachers online who had a 'niche', and I worried night and day as I felt I didn't know who I was a teacher. I didn't have a 'niche'. The pressure to know everything and have all the answers can also weigh heavy, especially if you are someone like me that puts a lot of pressure on yourself. We sometimes feel the expectation to seamlessly navigate every classroom challenge and educational quest right from the start. What now has become apparent to me is that expertise and confidence in teaching comes from firsthand experiences and falls into place over time. I found a niche from experiences, trials and errors. Try everything and take risks. Learn from your mistakes and reflect. Over time, your experience will piece things together for you. I promise! Just enjoy the journey.