GSRP teacher Katie Pannecouk reflects on her first year in the classroom and what helped her grow on the hard days.
Nothing quite prepares you for the first year of teaching. 
You’re learning who your students are, what they need and how to establish a good classroom flow all at the same time.
In this episode, Rhonda Meyers talks with Katie Pannecouk after her first year teaching the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) at Heartfelt. Katie shares lessons learned, how she grew in confidence and what surprised her most.
[00:10:36] “I didn't realize it was gonna be this hard. . . . Everybody just has different needs that you don't really realize until you have them all presented out in front of you, and you just go with it.”
Katie found that leaning on experienced teachers and building relationships with families were indispensable.
[00:20:35] “I think it really helped that I have that prior relationship with these parents, that I know not every time that I'm gonna talk to them, it's gonna be something negative, . . . so when the hard conversations did come, it helped that I knew them personally.”
New teachers, a word to you: You do not need to have it all figured out. Give yourself time to grow and just keep showing up.

Lessons from a First Year Teacher

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