The Best Thing About Your First Year

It’s obvious.

The best thing about your first year is your second year.

That’s often been said to and about first year teachers, and it’s true there, for sure. The learning curve of your first year teaching, and in most jobs, is so steep that the second year is better just because the learning curve has flattened out.

It’s true for a lot of other things as well, and sometimes we’d do well to remind ourselves. The thing is, sometimes we either (a) don’t notice the learning curve or (b) don’t realize it won’t always be like this.

I tell my students all the time in the Aces that the first year in the Aces is often about keeping head above water. I move them fast, throw lots of new ideas at them, and expect them to keep up. That can mean a lot of sweating and churning. But when they start their second year in the group, so many of the things we worked on are familiar that they can relax and enjoy the ride a lot more – and get more into the details, fine musical work, and leadership.

The important thing is to be aware: if you don’t know that it’s temporary, you can get turned off by a learning curve that keeps you climbing.