The Teaching & Learning Center collaborates with faculty members who serve as ambassadors in the Teaching Excellence Network. The network supports the TLC in advancing teaching excellence at WCU. Recently, we asked the ambassadors to reflect on their journeys as educators by responding to this prompt: 

If you could send a message back in time to your rookie educator self, what’s the funniest or most helpful advice you would give?

With their permission, we are sharing their insightful and entertaining responses:

➡️ Create a schedule for teaching and research days and STICK to it.

➡️ Save all course materials and rubrics on a separate device – don’t rely on the cloud or online software.

➡️ Just because they are young doesn’t mean they can use a computer. 

➡️ Save your emails that respond to student questions in a document. You can use them over and over and over.

➡️ Learning and teaching may not occur at the same time.

➡️ Be generous and focus on compassionate challenge.

➡️ Structure your classes so that you have a lunch break. Teaching while hangry is no fun!

➡️ Remember what you were like as a student! 

➡️ Take it one day at a time! Rather than worry about getting students where they need to be at the end of the term/year, focus instead on the here and now. 

➡️ Calm TF down, and don’t be so hard on yourself or your students. 

We invite you to reflect on your journey as an educator. What advice would you give your rookie educator self?