Teaching is a marathon, not a sprint.
As an educational shout out to everyone running the Chicago marathon, I'm tracking 26 monumental teaching milestones.
- First day of student teaching
- First time a student calls you Mr./Ms. _______
- Realizing your bathroom break schedule makes morning coffee a big mistake
- First call home to parents
- First (of many) happy hour with your co-workers
- First “Oh my goodness, they’re getting it!” moment
- First parent-teacher conference
- First time you had to clean/deal with student bathroom issues
- Being told you’re a student’s favorite teacher
- First time school makes you cry
- It feels like a milestone EVERY time you finish being observation!
- First field trip
- First time a student knows more than you (and it’s a great thing!)
- Getting your Masters
- First time a parent calls to say how much their student is improving
- First time you saw a student outside school
- The first day of your first summer break!
- First time you fail a student
- Feeling totally comfortable and in control in the classroom
- Moving up the pay scale!
- First time you train/mentor your fellow teachers
- Getting tenure!
- Deciding whether to stay in the classroom or go administrative route
- Being visited by a previous student who is all grown up
- Meeting a previous student in the teachers’ lounge
- Retiring & wishing you could start all over again
What milestones have I missed? Share you most memorable teaching moments in the comments section!
