What does a teacher often feel in his first year of teaching?

A teacher in his first year may be troubled by one point of conflict. At his College of Education or post Education Department, he was probably taught many modern and progressive techniques of teaching. When he becomes a member of a school, he is sometimes disappointed to find that these new methods are not practiced and may be derided. If this is the case, he would be wise to fit himself first to the accepted ways of the school and not to offend by insisting on imposing his new techniques and ideas. His first year of teaching will be the most intensive period of learning of his life. In it he must assimilate the customs and ways of the school, practice his teaching technique, and work out his teaching material. He has not time or energy left to row successfully against the current of accepted practices. If he does, he may well fail through lack of experience, and have disciplinary problems into the bargain. His wisest course is to delay experimentation until he is confident in discipline, on top of his subject, fully conversant with the running of the school, and has gained the respect of his colleagues. Of course, he must not leave the making of his personal contribution too late, or he may never make it. But he should devote the first year of teaching to learning himself rather than attempting to put others right; to absorbing
what the school and its traditions have to offer rather than initiating fundamental changes; and building for himself a steady platform from which he may later attempt to implement the ideas he learnt at College.
    Few will disagree that Colleges of Education and University Education Departments provide a really worthwhile education. Some believe, however, that there is too little emphasis on practical training. They would like more teaching practice and less educational theory. But the present bias is not necessarily incorrect. All the rest of their working lives teachers spend practicing their craft and only in their training years are they likely to study in any detail the theory behind their practice. Many subjects are read which provide a rich background and which are unlikely to be learnt in any other way. Hygiene, Comparative Education, History of Education, Statistics, Educational Psychology and Educational Philosophy may help to widen the prospective teacher’s educational horizon, even if of no immediate practical account. It has been suggested that the study of educational theory should come after several years’ teaching experience and not precede it. But this would be administratively complex, and enthusiasm for such a project would have waned after a few years’ teaching when many have become too settled to welcome removal for such a purpose. Secondment is not popular with schoolmasters who have married, bought a house, and started a family.
    Part of the criticism may be due to disappointment at not being adequately supplied with practical teaching hints which reveal the inner mysteries of the craft. The actor is rigorously trained in the tricks of his trade, and the pilot acquires skills in the seat of a dummy trainer; but the new teacher often feels as if let loose on the stage without lines, or flung into the air, well versed in the theories of flight, but without knowledge of the controls. He is told that all teachers learn to teach by teaching and that there can be no adequate substitute for practical experience in the craft. It is an irrefutable assertion; no list of instructions, however faithfully followed, could by themselves ensure a well-disciplined class and a well-balanced teacher at ease with himself as well as with his classes. But this does not mean that practical teaching hints are not valuable in a young teacher’s training, and even the best teachers can profit from advice. Most people have their rough comers knocked off by awkward classes during their first year of teaching, but it may take live years or more before they can admit to themselves that the classroom situation causes them no anxiety. Method training, supervised practice and teaching hints should all help to reduce this breaking-in period, even though they can never eliminate it. They should also help a poor teacher to teach better, and provide a good one with ideas. Very few people are temperamentally unsuited for teaching altogether, but for these few no advice or instruction is of any avail. The changes required to produce an effective teaching personality in them may be too great for even the most efficient training. Conversely, few people show so much natural ability for teaching that they cannot benefit from instruction. Even the born teacher needs direction. Teaching hints and axioms are an important aspect of this training. They are not binding and can be discarded if unsuited to the school, work, or individual personality. But the need of them is felt by many student teachers.