The first article of this series recognized the important role played by the advice and suggestions from those who live today the life we dream of tomorrow. In simple words, what is a greater way to be a professional teacher than deep and meaningful conversations with experienced teachers to guide and learn from? This last article in the series of four articles summarizes our interaction with some of the teachers across Bahrain's public schools about the experiences from their first year of teaching.
Teacher Rawan, a fourth-grade teacher in primary boy’s school suggested that future teachers must be flexible at school and understand their role in students' lives. The most important thing is to find a mentor to help you manage your classroom fairly and firmly. Equally important is to learn from your mistakes. Teacher Reem, in her advice to the future teachers, affirmed, "I would recommend them not just to be the student's teacher, but also be their friend who they can count on. Be a teacher friend but with boundaries that do not allow to ruin the teacher-student relationship”. Furthermore, Teacher Layla advises the undergraduate teachers to have love and passion for the job which is the ultimate key to achieving success. Whoever wants to join this occupation needs to possess a love for it. Otherwise, his or her journey will be considered pointless and unproductive. Finally, Teacher Sara said sleepless nights, inconsistent heartbeats, and a mind filled with anticipation and a bit of fear is how every teacher feels at the beginning of their teaching journey, yet every teacher should acknowledge teaching as a professional responsibility of building a new generation. Therefore, there is no shame in being a bit anxious. According to Sammephet and Wanphet (2013), teachers’ anxiety during the first days of teaching is caused by the unmet expectations with regards to students’ proficiency and behaviors. To prevent the first days of anxiety you must follow the suggestions mentioned earlier along with planning lessons effectively, having a backup plan in case something unexpected occurs, planning the class time management precisely, and above all trust yourself!
To conclude our series of articles, we covered the key points to consider when choosing the teaching career, how to provide the ideal learning environment for the students, how to meet the challenges the new teachers face especially from dealing with their students and from colleagues and taking seriously suggestions from experienced teachers. Scott Hayden, a lecturer, and trainer, and founder of a cross-college team that supports and trains all staff in creative and innovative approaches to teaching, learning, and assessment, says, “Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together”.
