Dear First Year Teacher,

This year, I’m honored to have the opportunity to work closely with the five new teachers in my building, three of whom are first year teachers.  I was completely invigorated after meeting with our dedicated, energetic, talented group for the first time last week, and I’m so excited to continue working with them this year!
After listening to each new teacher’s current successes and struggles, I was immediately taken back to my first year of teaching.  The feelings of significance, passion, and overwhelm flooded over me.
In hopes of seeking some words of inspiration for these incredible new teachers, I decided to throw out this question on my Facebook and Instagram:
“If you had to do it all over again, what would you tell yourself as a first year teacher?”
 
The responses from my teacher friends, both in real life and through social media, truly touched my heart and spoke straight to my teacher soul, even after twelve years of dedication to this profession.  So, instead of picking and choosing the best responses or meshing them with my own, I thought that your quotes would work beautifully as they are.
I couldn’t even rank them by favorites because I loved so many.
So thank you. Thank you for contributing and sharing your wisdom and heartfelt responses.
I hope your words will inspire first year teachers as they inspired me.
Dear First Year Teacher,