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On accepting support when you need it... 2018 West Virginia Teacher of the Year, Katlin Thorsell

995 views · Published 20 November 2018 · 1:14 · Indexed 1 October 2026

Channel: Google for Education · 2018 · Education

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2018 West Virginia Teacher of the Year Katlin Thorsell looks back on her first year of teaching to advise new teachers. She recalls wanting everything she did to be perfect and for lesson plans to be exciting, and for all students to be engaged. “Quite frankly, that didn’t happen,” she says. But her so-called failures proved instructive, and she made adjustments. “I looked to my students for help,” she says. “They knew I was a first-year teacher, and they really offered a lot of support.” She advises new teachers to give themselves a break, and not be afraid to ask their students for guidance, along with colleagues and others, “because that’s really what’s going to get you through.”

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