It’s Okay to Ask for Help
Whether you are a teacher, paraprofessional, guidance counselor, speech therapist, etc. it is okay to ask for help. It does not make you weak or incompetent to ask for help when you need assistance. It makes you human. Below, I have a list of resources you can turn to when you need support with the demands and expectations of working in a school.
1. Join Professional Learning Communities
Professional learning communities are communities where people of similar professions, needs, and experiences come together to learn from each other. They can meet in person like social clubs and professional groups, but many people rely on virtual communities. In fact, more and more educators are looking to social media for their professional learning community needs. Educators can turn to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram TikTok, etc, for real-time advice on work-related issues. I know that I personally turn to YouTube when I need assistance with teaching a new strategy or content and Facebook when I need ideas for supplementary materials for my classroom. But remember, when you join professional learning communities you are not only there to take, you should share your knowledge and experiences with the other members.
While we are speaking about joining professional learning communities, check out my YouTube channel, Janelle Lawrence the Urban Teacher.
2. Sign Up for Targeted Professional Developments
Have a teaching degree that does not mean you know everything there is to know about teaching. The degree works as theory, now you need practical instruction. Yes, you can learn on the job, but it will be a stressful endeavor. I believe that if you rely only on developing your teaching skills as you go, it will take you 4 – 5 years before you are at a place where you feel at ease. That is why I advocate for targeted professional development. Sign up for professional development on lesson planning, incorporating literacy in the classroom, differentiating, working with a Multilanguage population, etc. Sign up for professional development in areas where you need support.
The year that I started teaching for the NYCDOE they had a New Teacher Program in place that I will always recognize for my success as a teacher. In 2017, I graduated with a Master’s in Teaching from Fordham University. Fordham did an excellent job of preparing me to become a teacher, but it was the New Teacher Program that truly prepared me to teach in a middle school in the South Bronx. I remember going to a professional development on lesson planning thinking that I was not going to learn anything new because I took two courses on lesson planning at Fordham. However, I learned so much from the experience. It is one thing to learn how to make a lesson plan when you are not in the classroom or simply student teaching. It is anot2. her to come to the professional development with a lesson plan that you used in your own class for evaluation. That exercise alone improved my lesson plans and consequently my teaching drastically.
3. Find A Mentor
I have decided to separate mentorship from professional learning communities because mentorship is private while professional learning communities are more social. A great mentor can give you support with teaching, classroom management, dealing with parents, and navigating school bureaucracy. This year, I mentor two new social studies teachers at my school. Our mentorship meetings are separate, which allows me to tailor our meetings to their needs. One needs more support with lesson planning and developing learning activities for the students, while the other needs more support with classroom management and creating rigorous lessons. When I first started teaching, my mentor helped me develop an effective classroom management plan and create a system for keeping parents informed of their children’s academic performance in the classroom.
4. Engage the Parents
Of course, you would not engage your students’ parents with every issue you are facing in the classroom. You will not seek out parents for help with the curriculum or for support with difficult faculty. You, however, will engage parents if there are issues with their children that are affecting their education. Parents need to know when their children are falling behind, making it difficult to teach, not engaging in the learning process, etc. Once they know about the issues, you can work as a team to come up with solutions.
5. Sign Up for Therapy
Therapy has such a negative connotation for no real good reason. Everyone can benefit from it. Honestly, I believe that every professional individual with a stressful job should have a therapist. Therapists are professionals who are trained in listening and providing advice to others, and it is not reserved for people with mental health issues. In fact, I along with several of my colleagues have therapists that we visit for a number of different reasons. I honestly sort mine out because I wanted someone who did not know me to listen to me as I shared my dreams and aspirations and help me create a strong action plan. I know of others who seek out therapy to deal with the stress of teaching and or dealing with difficult administration. While others do see their therapists for mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
Now here you have it, five places to turn to for help. Our profession is difficult but with professional learning communities, professional development, mentorship, assistance from parents, and even therapy you can find the support you need.
Hopefully, this message was helpful in some way. I will continue to upload blog posts to my website. However, if you need additional support or what to be informed whenever I post a new message, you can also sign up from my email list. People who sign up for my email list will also have access to my free resources library.