“Is this your first year as a teacher?”

There are only a few possible answers when a student asks this dreaded question.

All of them are wrong.

I would never have written a blog post about my first year of teaching during my actual first year of teaching. That year was defined by a constant sense that I was the weakest link. I would never have had the courage to share my low points with the world. In fact, I didn’t even speak up in meetings with other new teachers. I was afraid they would offer gently phrased suggestions like, “Why don’t you try setting high expectations? Or creating a positive, data-driven, student-centered environment where all children can learn! That’s what I do, and all my students come to school excited to participate! Also, my students respect me. Maybe we should discuss why you are the type of person that children don’t respect.”

Not only was I afraid people would say these things—I was afraid they would be right.