What you gain when you don’t have to fake it anymore

Your first year in most jobs can be summed up with the famous quip: Fake it until you make it.

This is true in the school. It is also true within the church.

A few weeks ago I did my first PDP (professional development plan) at school.

One of the aims I had, understandably, was to increase my familiarity with the systems and structures of the school I’m currently working in.

Frankly, as would be expected in my first year of teaching, I don’t know a lot.

I started out as a near clean slate.

But, now, I’ve taught somewhere in the vicinity of 350 lessons.

I’ve filled out my first few grades of student reports.

I’ve navigated the first semester of exams and marking.

I can now, fairly confidently, navigate timetables, class covers and incident reports.

Just today I was sharing the secret I’ve gleaned about negotiating parent-teacher interviews.

In a relatively short time I’ve leant a lot.

But! there’s still A LOT of things I don’t know.

How sport works. 

How to organise excursions.

A hundred things I don’t even know exist yet…

But, over the last few months my staff room has had a half dozen practicum students.

And they’re surprised that I’m still a newbie.

For, on the outside, I appear throughly competent. 

And, in most jobs, this isn’t unusual.

You appear like you know what you’re doing.

Why?

Because you can do the basics.

You can execute everything expected. Most of the time.

But, you can’t yet do the unexpected.

You can’t navigate the incidentals.

You can’t pull off the tasks that only pop up occasionally. Or a few times per year.

You can’t navigate around the spaces that only come through experience and, occasionally, failure.

But, achieving that basic level of competency is something which should be celebrated. It is only after this point that you can then grow because you’re no longer expending all your energy in keeping your head above water.

It’s true in the school. True in the church. True in most occupations.