If you’re like me, you will never forget that wild year. The first year of teaching. The days when you came home on top of the world. The world that you were changing. You had the kids in the palm of your hand. They loved you, you loved them, and everything was apple trees and sunshine.

Then there were the other days. The days when nothing worked. Not even the pencil sharpener. You ran off the wrong set of copies and the principal stopped by to watch. You marked the wrong kid absent and her mom freaked out. In your room. In front of your class.

Ah yes, the first year of teaching. The ups, the downs, the loneliness, the stress. It’s no wonder that many of our young teachers leave the classroom within their first five years, given the fact that we’re the only profession in which first year practitioners have essentially the same responsibilities as thirty-year veterans. Fortunately, this problem has been recognized and smart people have started to address it. Studies have shown that effective teacher induction programs can dramatically reduce new teacher attrition.

But I want to do something a little different here. Something that I hope will raise the awareness of what brand-new teachers experience as they begin their careers.

I want to bring in a new teacher to this blog and have her tell the story of her first year on the job. As it happens. And I want the rest of us to talk back to her. Engage her in dialog. Find out what works and what doesn’t work for new teachers. My goal is to conduct a year-long case study of a classic new teacher and the problems she faces. If it works out the way I hope, we can gain some valuable insights into the teacher induction process. So let me introduce the newbie:

I first met DeAnn exactly twenty years ago. She was in my third grade class. She was smart and bossy. By far the best reader in the class. She had black hair and intense eyes. Now DeAnn is down the hall and across the breezeway from me. She’s isn’t bossy anymore, but she’s still smart and just as serious. Here’s what she has to say after three weeks on the job:

My first few weeks of teaching have been exciting, interesting and challenging to say the least! My name is DeAnn and I am a first year teacher of a second and third grade split class. I must say that my students are excited to learn and I am ready to teach. As I learn more about my students and complete a variety of assessments my teaching plans have changed. This is just fine by me and actually all the better because I want to teach to my present class of students. Some of the basic things we have spent a large amount of time on are learning the rules of the school, how to walk in an efficient line, where to go when you need something, when and how to ask for permission to use the restroom, who is this person I call my teacher and when is lunch! I have students at two grades and several academic levels. I really enjoy multitasking and balancing two curricula.

If I can offer one piece of advice it would be to ask for help when you actually need it. It sounds simple but with the start of the school year everyone appears busy – and they are. However, I have found that for the most part everyone is eager to help me out in some way or point me in the right direction. I had one colleague who offered to hang tall items on my classroom wall, another teacher helped me “muscle” a large bookcase into my classroom (since I did not have one) and another teacher continues to saturate me with a vast variety of teaching materials I can actually use. Even the janitor is eager to help me obtain the resources and supplies I need. Now, this is not to say that I am constantly asking everyone for everything but at the times when I need something substantial I have not been turned down or laughed at. What a relief that has been!

Finally, my first few weeks have had their ups and downs. However, the “downs” have been my lack of knowledge and not a fault of any student, situation or lack of resources. It takes weeks, months and probably this entire year to get into the groove of the profession and the daily routines not associated with teaching students. There are emails, fliers, meetings, greetings, letters and events that are either required or strongly recommended that I use or attend. These “events” are actually a great place for new teachers. They are helpful because you will find a surplus of new teachers that are just as eager to learn but feel just as lost as yourself.

My simple advice would be to attend everything you can and ask every question you have. If anything, you will meet a variety of people who are enthusiastic about helping you out. Furthermore, you will get answers to the questions you are desperately trying to find answers to.

So let’s talk back to DeAnn. Let’s find out more about the challenges and the "ups and downs" that make up her new reality. Please comment away. DeAnn may not have all the time in the world, but she’s very interested in this project and wants very much to help make this profession more welcoming to newcomers.