First year teachers are most often tapped by supervisors and principals to lead extracurricular activities at school. Being new, eager, and enthusiastic, beginning teachers connect well with students. Many enjoy the chance to extend relationships with students outside the classroom and interact with students in a more social and mentoring style. These interpersonal exchanges can lead to better classroom achievement for students.
Before deciding to take on additional responsibility in the first years of teaching, new teachers should reflect on answers to the following questions:
Time: How much free time can be devoted to this activity? New teachers are often working on graduate degrees or even at second jobs to pay back student loans. Be realistic, and make sure a daily schedule does not omit time to recharge and allow for a life outside of teaching.
Money: Is there extra pay involved in taking on this leadership role? Cash-strapped schools can take advantage of dedicated teachers, and the more teachers advocate for extra pay for extra work, the more professionalism will infiltrate the career field as a whole. There is always more that needs to be done to help kids and communities, but teachers have bills and families to tend to as well.
Cost: Has the school made available a budget to fund supplies, fees associated with the activity’s day-to-day management? Are business or community partners waiting to offer funds for a new club? Will fundraising be involved to pay for costs related to the activity?
Interest: What skills and experiences will leading this activity offer? Have students or parents already asked about starting a club with this focus? Many teachers were very involved students and have already led high school and college activities such as student government, sports teams, business and science competitions, volunteering, tutoring and publications. Teachers already have internalized knowledge of running these activities through experience and observation.
Risk: Is there supervised access to the school building after hours? Does the school district’s insurance cover extracurricular groups? Will parental permission slips and health emergency cards be required? Will students need to be transported anywhere? Make sure there is another parent, teacher or adult assisting at all times to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
Beginning teachers have so many skills to offer a school community outside of the classroom. Make sure that a decision to lead is well-considered before agreeing to head up an extracurricular in the first few years of an exciting new career.
Andrea Hines - Andrea Hines has ten years of teaching experience at the high school level. She holds a BA in English and an MA in Humanities. Having ...
