Joseph Dumont’s first day as a teacher didn’t exactly go as planned.
“I had a lesson plan I thought was going to last me to lunch, and I was done at 10 o’clock,” recalled the former teacher — a gaffe he followed up on by melting plastic transparencies on the school’s photocopier.
“It was all a whirlwind,” he said of that first day, and it shows how new teachers have to be flexible.
Thousands of St. Albert and Sturgeon County students are heading back to school this week, with staggered entry starting Aug. 30.
Greeting them will be hundreds of teachers, some of whom are brand new.
Dumont, now assistant superintendent of human resource services with Greater St. Albert Catholic, helped run an orientation session for about 37 new teachers and staffers Aug. 24 at the district’s main office in St. Albert.
The first day of school can be a daunting one for a new teacher, said Dumont, who went through his first day as a teacher 22 years ago. You’re responsible for the education of a whole room of kids, and have to work fast to set out expectations for student behaviours. Some teachers this year may have limited hands-on experience with students, having done their practicums online during the pandemic. Others will have to grapple with the new English, Phys-Ed, and Math curricula which roll out this fall.
“It is a very complex job,” Dumont said.
First time teachers
Dumont said GSACRD has about 360 teachers on staff this year, around 15 or so of whom are new. While he largely had to figure out his first days on his own, Dumont said today’s teachers get an all-day introduction to teaching with GSACRD and are paired with mentors to help them through their first year.
Elsa Amaya is one of those new teachers. Originally from Colombia, Amaya said she came from a family of teachers and hopes to serve as a role model for her students, as her own teachers had inspired her growing up.
Amaya said she was excited about her first day of teaching at Morinville Community High School, and had already kitted out her classroom with pictures of Canadian politicians and a Colombian flag. She was also trading ideas about first-day activities with other teachers.
“Not going to lie, I am a little nervous,” she said.
“It is the beginning of my career that I hope will be a long one.”
Born and raised in St. Albert, Garrett Meek is also starting his teaching career this week. He said he had put up some KISS and Star Wars decorations in his classroom at Sister Alphonse Academy, and hopes to hold a paper snowball fight (where students will lob crumpled-up accounts of what they did last summer at each other) there as an icebreaker for new students.
“The night before, I’ll be a wreck!” he said, when asked how he felt about the upcoming first day of class, adding that he expects to settle down once the first day gets rolling.
Amaya and Meek said time management will be a challenge for them this fall, with many of their peers emphasizing the need to find an effective work-life balance.
“Burnout is a real thing in the teaching industry,” Meek said, and you have to make time for yourself.
New teachers in GSACRD will get additional faith-based training in early September. Dumont said. The Alberta Teachers’ Association will also hold a beginner teacher’s conference in late September.
