By Noah Kim
EDITION #12 – How do we celebrate success?
Published – 11th December 2019
Noah Kim is beginning the 2nd year of teaching after graduating from RMIT Brunswick in 2017
Firstly, I would like to begin by congratulating you on your inaugural year in the profession. While you are still fresh and learning the practical aspects of teaching, you have now gained a wealth of experiences and skills that will continue to mould your teaching.
For those of you that have completed your VIT registration, congratulations on engaging in a thoughtful learning process which mirrors the reflective cycle that is a part of our profession. Be extremely proud of what you have accomplished and do not hesitate to share this with your close friends and family.
Really cherish this time at the end of the year to celebrate your personal achievements and celebrate with the colleagues who stretched, supported and stood by you in your first year of teaching. At the end of my first year I found myself quite melancholic about moving away from the teams I had been working with during the year. Interacting with each individual in the team
had become second nature, with strong relationships being formed. Throughout the year, you will have probably experienced a myriad of emotions. But compare your very first lesson with where you are now – it never fails to bring a smile to my face!
When we completed our university education we were loaded with relevant educational theory and we began to develop our own personal teaching approach. Although we had ongoing practical experience throughout our degree to help us see the expectations and reality of the profession, there is still much to learn in your first year as a full-time classroom teacher!
Consider these questions to help better understand your growth:
- How has my teaching philosophy changed since the start of the year?
- What were some significant learning milestones across the year that I achieved?
- What were some challenges I didn’t expect?
After you have celebrated and recognised your achievements, I find it is perfect timing to apply a critical lens to yourself and think about your next steps. You might be thinking, ‘I’ve just finished this year! Thinking ahead doesn’t have to be a formal document with fully-fledged goals, it can just be reflecting on areas of practice you might focus on next year. For me, a minor area I wanted to improve on was my organisational skills, so I refined how I organised my documents and resources. I used the VIT process to identify areas for next steps which then fuelled my PDP goals for this, my second year. This is a helpful process that sets you up for success moving into the new year. After all, it is a long break and should you do this process well, you will be more prepared and able to hit the ground running and establishing positive habits from day one in the subsequent year.
From one teacher to another, thank you for showing a passion for education and I can only hope that you will share your experiences and knowledge with graduates who have been in a similar position to you. I truly hope that you have been able to resonate with things I have written in any of the articles from the Graduate Teacher Learning Series and continue to ensure excellence in teaching and learning.