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9 Tips to Help You Survive Your First Year of Teaching (Downloadable)

By Gary Kowalski — August 15, 2024 1 min read
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The first year in the classroom can be overwhelming and exhausting.

“Everything from my classroom culture to my instruction spiraled out of control my first few months, and the reality of having my own classroom in an underresourced community hit me hard,” writes teacher Gary Kowalski.

To help first-year teachers manage an overwhelming transition into the classroom, Kowalski, who has taught 8th grade English/language arts and social studies for the past 10 years, penned an opinion essay with guidance on how to create a calm and inviting classroom environment right from the start.

See Also

School Setting Superimposed on Modern Community Head Profile Icons combined with an Abstract Geometric Pattern. Classroom management, early career teacher professional development.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + DigitalVision Vectors + Anastasiia Neibauer/iStock
Teaching Opinion How to Ace Your First Year of Teaching
Gary Kowalski, July 9, 2024
5 min read

Below is a helpful guide you can take with you (or even post on your desk as a reminder to yourself) and share with others.

Vanessa Solis, Associate Design Director and Dominique Bander, Opinion Editorial Assistant contributed to this opinion article.

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