The Best Advice I Ever Received as a Teacher

Contest entries, spring 2006

Read the winning entries from Steve Feld, Colleen Kilian, and Barbara Moran.

Colleen Kilian

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, I had secured a teaching job, and I couldn't wait for August. My first teaching job was at a prestigious all girls' school, and I knew I was going to have an easy year. I was very grounded and prepared in knowing that I would be spending many hours (pretty much every waking minute) working on creating lessons and grading papers, but I was lucky. At a private school, the girls were there to learn, and I would have no problems engaging them whatsoever.

So I began my first day (very naively, mind you) believing my job would be rewarding and very satisfying. I believed I could handle this job on my own and needed no help from my mentor teacher, who at 62 years old, had been teaching a very long time. I won't lie.I was very much intimidated by her; therefore, I wasn't about to ask her advice.

Two weeks into my new teaching career, I was seriously thinking I had gotten into the wrong profession. These girls, who I assumed would be perfect angels (after all, they were paying to learn) were, to be quite honest, obnoxious. The constant gossiping, sleeping in class, and coming to school barely dressed was becoming a little too much for me. These girls didn't want to learn; they wanted to socialize. Every time I walked or turned my back, there was a new conversation. "Did you see Joey with Sue last night? Amanda is going to be so mad. I can't wait until she finds out." This was a common theme, and the sad thing was, I began to get to know all of these boys, when I taught at an all girls' school!

With a heavy heart and depressed spirit, I still refused to ask for help. I felt if I went to my mentor, it would be admitting failure. And besides, she scared me!! However, two weeks of secretly crying at the end of the day, I knew I needed help. So with my tail between my legs, I tearfully entered Mary's room. My mentor, Mary, took one look at my pitiful face and said, "Honey, you will make it through this year. Pull up a chair and talk." I spent one hour in her room venting all of my frustrations and defeats. After she let me finish, she said, "Now I'm going to tell you a joke." I probably looked at her as if she was off her rocker, but I humored her and said okay. She told me a joke, and I laughed. Mary then gave me a piece of advice I will always carry with me: "You might cry every day. However, for every time you cry, you will also laugh."

As she said this to me, I began to think about all of the funny, unexpected events that happened throughout the day. This woman, who scared me, had a point. In this profession, I do laugh every day. Every day something happens to bring a smile to my face. I don't think many other people can say that. So armed with my new advice, I went into my classroom armed with the best weapon when dealing with teenagers: HUMOR. Being able to laugh at myself allowed my students to feel more comfortable with me, and as a result, we all had better attitudes, which contributed to more time wanting to learn!

So as I near the end of my first year of teaching, there are some days where I may cry. However, I always remember Mary's advice. I might cry everyday, but for every time I cry, I also know I will laugh. And as the cliché as it is, in the teaching profession, laughter is the best medicine.

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