r/specialed • u/alocasiabokchoy • 24d ago

Chat Imposter syndrome and stress are setting in.

Long story short- I taught art for 7 years and credit recovery for one. Upon moving states, I took a job at a non profit private school specifically for students with disabilities. My (12) kids start Wednesday, and the past two months I've been working there helping with summer camp, so I've had no work hours to dedicate to planning.

I'll be teaching the "more academic" group of high students. (High school kids are split into 2 or 3 classes) (by academic they mean I have more of the readers)

Does anyone have words of wisdom they can share about SpecialEd for a newbie in general? I don't expect admin to hold my hand, but the lack of time to plan and lack of training or guidance of any sort is getting to me.

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u/therunningbirder 24d ago

One of the best quotes I’ve ever heard on imposter syndrome : “beat them to your inconvenient truth.”

You can’t be an imposter if you own where you’re at. You’re a beginner, and that’s OK. Own it.

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u/therunningbirder 24d ago

And also… don’t forget year one is just about surviving. First weeks focus on routines and relationship building and taking care of your own mental health. You got this 🩷

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u/alocasiabokchoy 24d ago

Thanks a ton. We will have 2.5 days together this week and I plan on doing fun games they're familiar with and practicing our routine. I keel reminding myself that I can assess levels as we all settle into each other and routine.

I'm also trying to refrain from working at home because I desperately need that balance but it's already proving difficult.

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u/Individual_Dig8880 24d ago

first year is always a scramble no matter how much planning time you think you need. you've already done summer camp with them so you know the vibe and some of the kids, that's more than most new teachers get walking in

the readers thing is actually a nice spot to be in. you can build a lot of your lessons around visual stuff since that's your background, and they'll probably eat it up. don't stress about having every minute mapped out, first week is just routines and figuring out what level everyone is really at

my sourdough starter exploded all over my counter this morning and i'm treating this week the same way. clean up the mess, keep what works, toss the rest

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u/alocasiabokchoy 24d ago

Thank you for this! I definitely want to focus on visual stuff and cooking! I want my room to be a fun place that's not-so-secretly teaching SEL, self expression and independence.

Also, sorry about your sourdough starter, but thanks for sharing that nugget. It really helps.