My First Year as a Teacher: Twenty-Five Teachers Talk about Their Amazing First-Year Classroom Experiences

by Pearl Rock Kane (editor)

This inspiring book features 25 touching, hilarious, eye-opening, and true tales about the most frustrating, intimidating, underpaid, and wonderful job in the world.

In schools across America, in classes for handicapped, gifted, privileged, and disadvantaged students, these teachers recall that exciting first year, when they were often given the toughest kids and the biggest responsibilities of their careers. From coping with inner-city diversity to challenging poor self-esteem, these extraordinary images come straight from people who have already taken those first courageous steps of the novice educator. For anyone who is contemplating teaching as a profession, this invaluable collection is a must-read.

“Vivid, poignant, and often funny stories about one of the most challenging experiences anyone can first-year teaching.”—Albert Shanker, President, American Federation of Teachers

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Memoir, School

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1996

Reviews

[Mya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was very insightful on the lives of teachers.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had been recommended to me by other educators and referenced in some of the classroom organization and management books that I had read, so I figured I'd pick it up and see what it was all about. This book is not a novel or book in the traditional sense and is rather a compilation of twenty-five first hand accounts of teachers in their first exposure and year as educators. Several of the accounts are filled with humor, humility, and hope. Each short piece is aimed to drive the speakers point home to readers-whether that's the opinion that being a teacher is the best job in the world because good teachers are sorely needed or that pride can be a destructive force in the classroom and never attack your students pride for the sake of your own.
Though there wasn't any classroom management or teaching strategies presented, this book exposed the mindset and viewpoints of first year teachers through their struggles and triumphs. It gives a look to others as to why teaching is so rewarding and important to some but that it definitely isn't for everyone. You have tales of embarrassment and cries of frustration at the lack of resources and ability teachers can face, and the overwhelming odds that can be placed on a first-year teacher's shoulders.
Overall it is a good, uplifting book at will make a lot of educators laugh in understanding and be able to relate to the moments of horror or embarrassment that students can sometimes provoke. Also a good book to read lightly as you can take a break or put it down in-between any of the chapters, as each chapter is a new story. I would recommend this book to educators that enjoy looking back and/or want something light to read or to potential teachers who wonder if teaching is for them and what it might be like.

[Shepard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Attention all up-and-coming educators and those in their first year of teaching, please read this book! It was assigned to me through an education class, and I was so encouraged by it. It contains several short stories from real teachers describing their first year of teaching, and it's very honest. Most educational programs won't tell you about the screaming children, the chaos, the plagiarism, the parents, the stress... but they're real and part of the job. But there's also the learning, for the students and the teacher, the success, improvement, and connection. Both the tough times and the joy of teaching are described in these memoirs by the respective teachers. I honestly believe the editor collected these stories to encourage those of us approaching teaching to know that while it can be hard, others have triumphed and continue to love teaching.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book to read prior to starting my teaching career but it's a bit dated and some of the stories are not as interesting as others.

[Susanna]

I got this at McKay's for 50 cents. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but it was way better! I wish I had read it last year... it would have helped!

[Zie Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I respect that this book does not sugarcoat teaching like most teacher prep programs do; in fact, it points out that very fact that there is too much sugarcoating being done in the American teacher prep program, and this book is from the late 1990s, so so many of the truths spoken in this book have gotten even worse. I found myself nodding along throughout reading this to various points made:

"I guess I don't need to say teaching is a unique profession. It has its periods of elation and depression. Some days you will wonder how you can stand it. Other days you will feel there is nothing so satisfying...One period you will consider yourself a born teacher. Next period you will bewail the fate that gave you such a job...One month you will decide that at least you have arrived at a satisfactory philosophy of education. The next month you will wonder, What is it all for? Some days will be a month in passing. Some months will be a day in passing."

I'm relieved this wasn't a book about how teaching is "a passion," "a calling," or something "you're just born to do," despite that being true for some individuals. For the majority of us, it's none of those things. It's a difficult job to have, and is not at all easy. This book pointed that out, but also weaved in the reasons people do such a hard job: making a difference in someone's lives despite how small, and the self-improvement and life lessons that you learn just as a teacher watching your students. I'm happy my professor required this book for us to read, because it shows me she understands the realities of being a teacher and wants us to comprehend it as much as possible as students before we are teachers ourselves.

[Ashton Rios · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m currently working toward earning my teaching certification through my university. I’ve completed my block classes & just today, I got a call about my placement for student teaching. I’ve worked in education since high school, about 4 years now, & in different content areas, with high school, undergraduate, & graduate students.

All of that is to say that if you get something out of this book, let it be that yes, there are some awful aspects of teaching. But there are so many positive moments & manifestations of work that has been put in by educators & students alike.

This book is harmfully outdated. Many terms described students with accommodations, various financial backgrounds, & students of color with microaggressive tones - intentional or not.

If you read this book, go into it knowing that you will be offended by the wording in all of the stories presented. If you’re able to get past that & imagine how this might have been worded in the 21st century, in a modern classroom, I hope you’ll be able to see just how the operation of classrooms has changed so much & yet so little.

I wouldn’t recommend this book for anyone who wouldn’t be able to swallow their emotions about those harmful topics described above.

[Hannah Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you’re going to be a teacher, you’ll probably have to read this. The stories went about as expected. It’s basically a feel-good book to get you to realize that teaching is going to throw you curveball after curveball, but you’ll get through it.

[Mike Menth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book that allows all educators to reflect on their own experiences. It’s fun to see that the challenges I faced in my first year were shared by others nearly 50 years ago. This book has 25 first hand accounts of the fears, humor, and triumphs of that first year.

[Reader Gal]

I read this during my first year of college in one of my education courses. I thought it was informative and had a lot of great points.. some I can consider to incorporate or avoid for my future classroom :)

[Elizabeth Wilden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very heartwarming. Some stories are not as strong as others, but I’m very glad that my first education professor introduced me to this book.

[H.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is well-paced and manages to be both fresh and representative of its genre.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of stories about the first year of teaching from the 1930s to the early 2000s. I am so glad that I was at a school with teachers who supported me in my first year.

[Kylie Tuller · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was read for school didn’t like it

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories, many were very inspiring.

[Carrie LeAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspiring.

[Aaron Sanderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight for those just starting to teach or haven't quite started yet. An easy read with short chapter stories, where you can burn through a few in a quick sitting.