1. Preparing For Lows
A teacher prep program should explicitly raise this issue with the trainees. It’s normal for rookies to have gut-wrenching lows. Precisely how will they deal with these?
One aspect of this is learning to vent in a healthy way — so you get it out, but it doesn’t consume you or harden you. The other aspect is stress management (sleep, exercise). It’s one reason we purposefully have our trainees experience a hard, stressful year — the same reason that the military makes its training pretty tough — to prepare you for an even tougher following year as a rookie.
2. Seeking Out Coaching
In sports, it’s common for athletes to seek out extra coaching. It’s normal self-interest. I want to get better. So I ask someone to watch me and give me feedback. Sometimes I even pay for it (private lessons). Other times it’s free.
In teaching, it’s uncommon for rookies to seek out feedback. That is bad. Here’s what we’d want rookies to think:
