Weeks of a Beginning Teacher – Week 3: Be Kind

Takeaways in 10s

• Simple is enough—not every lesson must be action packed

• Find time to connect—talking to colleagues & students can be healing

This Week in My Teaching Journey

This week was tough. Not because of a major crisis, but because of that slow, creeping tiredness that tells me I am not taking care of myself enough.

But today felt different. It was a good day—and that made me think: maybe things can get better if I just breathe a little.

One surprising thing I did was to be intentional about not being intentional. I gave myself space to run simpler, slower lessons—where students just took down corrections quietly and I shared some of the common mistakes. No need for elaborate & fun lesson plans, no pressure to entertain. And they were okay with that. In fact, they still learned (my better class that is).

Sometimes, these “quieter” lessons are exactly what both teachers and students need. A moment to hunker down, focus, and just do the work that is needed but not desired. To improve, I would weave in small engagement breaks—a mini quiz, a music break or a stretch break to just recharge from the tiredness of the day and long time spent on focused writing.

If I Could Tell My Younger Self One Thing…

"Be kind to yourself and others."

This week, it was the small, sincere, and even random pantry conversations that carried me through. Colleagues who bothered to share more about their lives as beginning teachers. Students who thanked me for having fun lessons. Even just one nice word reminded me that I’m not alone in this teaching journey.

We all start somewhere. Some of us have more experience, some of us don’t. But most of us feel insecure sometimes. The trick is to be kind to yourself, keep showing up, and improve one day at a time.

You don’t have to be the best. But if you’re consistent, present, and trying your best—that matters more than you know.

Disclaimer: This blog post is a summary of my written takeaways by ChatGPT and the cover image is generated by using the takeaway as the prompt in Gemini.