Well, you feel overwhelmed trying to prepare for a new year of teaching in the classroom. It doesn’t matter if you are a new teacher or a veteran, we all feel that way. Too many things are thrown at us at the beginning of the school year. I myself just finished two days of textbook training with two new book adoptions. Each editor provided about four hours of extensive confusion to kick off the school year. Teacher Editions, PowerPoints, Test Builder Software, Enrichment Guides, Standards Practice Material, Assessment Materials, Benchmark Tests, CST Support, Skills Practice, Web Access Codes, Student Registration Procedures, Student Logins teachers and more. That was just a small taste of the first four-hour session followed by the second editor providing their own take on the same stuff, but somehow managing to make it different enough that it’s a whole new process.

 

Then, no doubt, you will have several days of orientation, staff development, staff meetings, and department head meetings before the students arrive. Upon which you are given curriculum roadmaps, calendars, previous year test scores to analyze, student rosters, first week procedures, school objectives, mission statements, behavior policies, guidelines for staff , school protocols, safety training, health training, distribution of materials and a partridge in a pear tree. Then you remember that you still have to prepare your classroom. Arranging desks, decorating walls, organizing files, creating student worksheets, lesson plans, student handouts, completing your teacher planner, shopping for school supplies, installing classroom technology that never works quite right, checking in students in their rating programs, creating seating charts, benchmarking, and copying, copying, copying. Not to mention the million things I forgot but will no doubt find out.

 

So how do you avoid feeling overwhelmed as a teacher?

 

Stop for a moment and take a deep breath, imagine a happy place and go there. Then, when you mentally return, take solace in the fact that you are not alone. Everyone feels this way to some degree. A new teacher usually feels like this tenfold. Don’t panic because you’ll get over it, I promise. But here are some things that will help you:

 

Stay as organized as possible. I’m not one to brag about my own organizational progress, but I know it’s a cornerstone of being an effective classroom teacher and staying calm. Get yourself a teacher planner with a weekly and yearly calendar. Ask your administration because many times they have them in the office. Fill it in as best you can with all the known dates of the year. This will help you feel like you are at least ahead of the game and know what is coming your way. Then plan a week in advance to get your head out of the water. You can plan further ahead as you start to get into the groove of your year later. Don’t worry about all the other things, just prepare your classroom and plan for a week. Make copies, shop for the school supplies you need, and jot down your lesson plan for each day of the week in your stylish new teacher planner. That is really the most important part of all. The other things will take care of themselves as the year progresses. You can come back later and start prioritizing, organizing, and completing everything else as needed.

 

If you’re a new teacher, just focus on basic core assignments, focus on the students, and try to file all other stuff in your “I’ll get to it when I can“file. Trust me, every teacher has a BIG one of these files on their desk. So go to meetings, gather all your materials, smile, and then go back to your classroom and plan for a week. When you’re done, make sure to stop and take some time to relax. Remember that inch by inch life is a piece of cake and inch by inch life is hard. No one expects you to have it all done. If you are afraid your management is watching you with a wary eye Eagle, I would venture to say that they have more compassion and understanding than you may realize.

 

All teachers feel overwhelmed at times, but the better you can create a workable classroom management plan, the more relaxed and calm you’ll feel throughout the year. Take the time to learn how to create and implement a plan and it will reward you with relaxed and happy days of teaching. Take one step at a time, focus on your procedures and your students; everything else will work itself out in time.

 

Have a great school year!