Greatest Challenge faced by you in your teaching career

Our page is all about the focus upon coaching our new teachers to become the best they can be. We would like to have you share with us the greatest challenge you have faced as a teacher. We hope to learn from your experiences! This discussion will help our new teachers. Thanks for helping us!

Tags: New, teachers

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Permalink Reply by kolson on December 24, 2007 at 9:52pm

I'm a nontraditional new business education teacher (got my BA in accounting, worked in accounting for almost 2 years before going back to get my teaching license in a Post-Bacc licensure program, then stayed at home with babies for 2 years). I'm currently only teaching 1/2 time (loving it!) and am wholeheartedly embracing all of the wonderful web 2.0 tools available to teachers today. A huge challenge that I'm facing is the teachers I work with do NOT share my enthusiasm for anything new and it's starting to affect my morale when I'm at school. I've been sharing all of my new knowledge with the other teachers who were at the web 2.0 training I attended and have received almost exclusively "thanks, but I don't have time for this". I feel like I'm out there on my own - if I hadn't found CR2.0, I'm not sure my enthusiasm would have continued at the level it has. Another challenge I've faced is a very reluctant mentor (required in my state for all new teachers). i'm sure there are more challenges I'm not thinking about yet......

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Permalink Reply by Delaine Sanders on June 17, 2009 at 2:58am

I just finished my first year of teaching. I am a career switcher with 20 years of programming experience but no teaching experience before this! I'm in a fairly challenging environment and yes, two of my classes were for remedial 9th graders (i.e. behavior problem students who dislike math). :) I tried to come up with ways to 'trick' them into seeing the math, and while I think I got better over the year, I still have a long way to go. My geometry classes definitely went better the second semester. I am hoping to integrate more technology next year in order to interest more students. Behavior, and grabbing and keeping the student's attention was my greatest challenge. I know I'll get better because I want to. I don't want them to be bored.

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Permalink Reply by Kate Fanelli on June 17, 2009 at 8:34pm

As a new teacher I had pretty typical challenges: deciding how harsh/lenient to grade, finding enough stuff to fill a class period and then a whole school year, finding the language of teachers to discipline kids, stuff like that.

I just finished my 9th year as a teacher. My biggest challenges as I look at the 9 years as a whole have been things like finding and using best practices, incorporating new trends, finding funding for all of the stuff I want to do, and pacing myself. I tend to hear about something new, immediately see how I could use it, and want to develop it right then and there. Finding the time and money to do that can be difficult, and sometimes a little time and distance would probably have helped me be more objective and/or efficient.

Although I wouldn't say it has been one of my "greatest" challenges, I'd say keeping my goal in mind (engaging and teaching students) despite professional and personal distractions is also something I continue to work on. Staying focused on your goal and dwelling on the positives is important.

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Permalink Reply by Teachers TV on June 18, 2009 at 10:13am

Hi, I’m working on behalf of Teachers TV to ask for teachers to give their advice and opinions to fellow teachers who are taking part in a new series of From Good to Outstanding. This thread seemed relevant, so I hope this is OK to post here. The series started on 9th June 2009 and we would really like more teachers to get involved and let us know what they think.

Here’s a bit more about the programmes: Taking a teacher who was rated ‘good’ by their school, viewers will have the opportunity to give their advice about how they could deliver an ‘outstanding’ lesson. After also receiving advice from specialist coaches, we find out what impact the experience has had on each teacher taking part.

Read more about secondary science teacher Hana and early years teacher Rachel in the discussion group as they are interviewed by Teachers TV. Hana and Rachel welcome your advice after their first lesson which is now live, so do get involved.

Thanks in advance for your contributions.

Beth Granter
On behalf of Teachers TV