Many people grew up listening to the phrase “practice makes perfect.” Even if something does not turn out to be perfect, practice certainly can help.
A few of the second-year teachers at Lakeland High School are ready to jump into the school year far more prepared than the previous fall.
Joshua Ballard, the physical science and physics teacher, is ready to face his second year at LHS and second year teaching overall.
Having a year of experience under his belt has caused Ballard to feel more relaxed, which overall helps his stress level tremendously.
“You don’t always wake up stressed every morning because you kind of already know what you’re going to do that day, and you’ve done it before,” Ballard said. “So that’s really nice having the familiarity.”
Thinking ahead, Ballard tried to think of a way to make future years easier.
This was a technique that Delaney Gorton, English teacher, and Keara Schaffer, biology and anatomy and physiology teacher, have also picked up.
Both Gorton and Schaffer are in their second year of teaching as well.
“I tried to structure things my first year to where I already had them prepared and organized and ready for next year,” Ballard said. “I feel like I was ready to go as soon as school started.
Gorton also noted a large amount of her free time was dedicated to finding materials and making assignments.
Having to do so, a lot of her first-year experience was getting the grunt work out of the way. By doing this, future years will seem like a breeze.
“One of the biggest differences from my first year is I’m not having to make everything up on the fly like I was last year,” Gorton said.“I have gone to college for all of these years of training, so I knew what I was talking about, but I didn’t always have the materials to back it up.”
After the first year of deciding what criteria should be used in class, teachers are able to focus on different aspects of their job, like building relationships.
Working somewhere for a longer period of time can also help build stronger bonds.
For Schaffer, coming back to a school she has already taught at makes for a much more comfortable situation.
“Walking around the school and seeing teachers that I worked with last year or students that I taught last year makes me feel more at home,” Schaffer said.
Schaffer is very grateful for the relationship she had built at LHS. She believes teaching is the perfect fit for her because she loves the school environment.
“My students were amazing, and it was so cool to watch them grow through the year,” Schafer said. “I am excited about this year, and I am excited about next year too.”
