Lately, whenever I log into my news updates online, I’ve been noticing a lot of similarly styled articles. There’s always a “The 14 Must Haves For Winter” or “10 Ways to Bump Up Your Protein Intake”. Sometimes those articles have a little tip for me that I’ve forgotten or even some new nugget of information to learn.
As I think about the first day of work in 2025, I wonder what I would tell my younger self about starting the school year. What would be my tips for myself after all these years? There are a few things I want to keep in the forefront of my thoughts this month and throughout the year as I try to balance all the challenges that come with a career in education. So, in no particular order of importance, I’m sharing with you my Four Tips for January.
Tip 4: Reconnect with colleagues. If you’re new to a school or position after the break, connect with your new colleagues. If you’re returning to your position, then make sure to stop in and chat with your colleagues. January is a tough month with cold weather, report cards imminent, and changes for some of us in teaching assignments. The best school staff works together with the knowledge that they can lean on each other for advice, smiles, and encouragement.
Tip 3: Continue to build relationships with families and the school community. School is part of the community it serves. Families all have a story to tell, sometimes they are joyful and sometimes they need support. As a parent, my children’s educators are partners with me in helping to shape my children’s experiences and ensure their safety at school. I appreciate their willingness to talk with me, their ability to see the best in my kids, and to help our family feel welcome and part of the school
Tip 2: Show the kids how much you care. Educators are the most caring and compassionate people I know. For many students, school feels uncertain the first few weeks after a break; it seems like December was so long ago. For some students, they may be experiencing their ‘first day’ if they’ve just moved to your school. Make your caring visible with smiles, kind words, and opportunities to build community and wonder. Help them to see themselves as capable and brilliant learners.
Tip 1: Know your why. Let your why guide you each day, let it be the lens through which you view your success, professional growth, and your goals as an educator. For some people, articulating their why helps them to focus and centre themselves. For others, it might be a visual compilation of words, pictures, colours, emotions. Finding our own ‘why’ is personal and part of our identity as educators and it might evolve and change throughout our careers. It’s great to revisit, remember, and revise our why as we start each year.
Well, readers, those are my Four Tips for January. I hope you found something useful in my own short list of advice that I would give my young, teacher self. As I start 2025, I remember to say hello to students in the hall with excitement and greet families and staff with big smiles and enthusiasm. I remember that helping create a place where they feel like they are safe, belong, and confident is my why.
