Luke Zuroske, math teacher, is in their first year of teaching. The transition from student teaching to having a classroom that they are responsible for can be a big change.
“I thought student teaching was really difficult at first, but it was only for a short time, I didn’t have nearly the amount of responsibilities I have here,” Zuroske said. “It’s not just preparing a classroom, it’s continuous training to improve. There’s always special education services I have to prepare for, always little odds and ends, extra details or jobs I have to do that I was never really prepared for. I would say it’s definitely more work than student teaching prepares you for.”
Zuroske talks about their struggles in the switch of workloads, and they are open with how it has made them feel about being a new teacher.
“This job has definitely stressed me out more than I prepared for, but it gets easier and easier. After a quarter it’s been a lot easier to handle the stress than it was the last two weeks, I can tell you that,” Zuroske said.
They question themself, and they state that other new teachers during their first year probably share the same uncertainty.
“I would just tell anyone who wants to be a teacher, you’re gonna doubt yourself immensely in your first year. I guess I don’t know if it’s for sure the hardest, but it really feels like it is, and you only get better,” Zuroske said. “I’m always stressed out, like how can I best support them? Is this lesson enough? Are they getting the information they need from it? Did I do enough to prepare for the tests? Sometimes I wonder when I give students the tests if I helped them out enough.”
Zuroske openly speaks on how they had a very hard time throughout college, and took longer than their peers. They think that is why they can relate to so many students.
“Well, it may be why I can relate to a lot of students. I was not a very good high school student, and I was not a very good college student. In fact I actually left college for a while because I wasn’t doing so well and it took me a few years to get back on my feet and to build up a bit of work ethic, build up some discipline, and when I finally got my life figured out I went back to college and I finished it out,” Zuroske said.
Overall, being a new teacher may be harder than people think, and sharing hardships is a good way to get through them.
