Teaching is an exciting ride, but it comes with its fair share of worries, especially for newcomers. From connecting with students to balancing work and life, these concerns can be daunting. There are many worries new teachers have. 

New teachers often grapple with common worries that can impact their confidence in and out of the classroom. But we are here to help that…

In this blog post, we’ll delve into five common worries (which are very normal) that often plague beginning teachers and provide actionable solutions to help YOU navigate the challenges ahead with confidence.

Let’s Unpack the 5 Common Worries New Teachers Have

1. Building relationships with students

New teachers often feel worried about connecting with their students, as building strong relationships is a foundational aspect of effective teaching.

Suggested solution:

Spend the first few weeks getting to know your students through activities, games and lessons. Find ice breaker game ideas here. 

2. Classroom management

Classroom management can be challenging, and new teachers often feel stressed about how to create routines and procedures that support the learning environment and respond effectively to student behaviour issues.

Suggested solution:

Know that one-size isn’t going to fit all. Your classroom management strategies will always be changing and evolving. Check out our free masterclass for new teacher full of suggestions on establishing a positive classroom environment. 

3. Lesson planning and delivery

New teachers often feel intimidated by the responsibility of planning and delivering effective lessons that align with learning standards and engage students.

Suggested solution:

Use the support of those around you. Find existing programs (on the school network or from colleagues). If you have many teachers in your year level, divide and conquer by taking turns planning subjects each term. Get into the habit of planning your lessons for the week. Not sure how to do this? Watch this masterclass, or read this blog post with strategies. 

4. Assessment and grading: 

Ensuring that students are learning and assessing their progress accurately can cause new teachers to feel anxious about how to grade and provide feedback.

Suggested solution:

Create good habits of recording data. Start by recording the starting point of learning a concept, the pretest and the end point, the post test. Assessments and data are there the help you plan and direct your teaching to best cater for the learning needs of your students. Here are 10 ways you can easily assess your students that don’t feel like ‘tests’. Find it here.

5. Balancing work and personal life

New teachers (and veteran teachers) often feel overwhelmed by the amount of work required to maintain their teaching duties while trying to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Suggested solutions:

Set up systems from the very beginning. Work will always be there, so find one day a week or fortnight to leave work early to do something NOT related to work.

Consider food prepping lunches or dinners so you know you’re getting good nutrients into your body. Plus, doing it in one hit saves you from having to think about what to eat everything day!

If possible, treat yourself to a bought lunch or dinner (because we know you deserve it!)

At the end of the day, we want you to remember, you’re not alone, and every challenge is a chance to grow. So, relax, embrace the journey, and know that you’ve got this!

Before you go, you NEED to get your hands on this FREEBIE:

What to read next:

Common Mistakes Made by New Teachers and How to Avoid Them

3 Handy Freebies for New Grad Teachers

5 secrets to Help You Have a Successful First Year of Teaching