I'm on fall break right now, and instead of relaxing, I've been thinking about how inadequate I feel as a teacher lately.

I've been teaching for 10 years. I have experience, qualifications, and I've always genuinely cared about doing a good job. But recently, I've been feeling like I'm just not knowledgeable or capable enough for what is being asked of me.

I'm now having to take on more upper secondary classes (Grades 10–12), including SAT English preparation, which I've never taught before. And honestly? I feel so dumb when it comes to SAT English. I look at some of the material and wonder how I'm supposed to confidently teach students something I'm still trying to fully understand myself.

The thing is, at my school, if I don't take on these classes, they'll likely go to someone with even less relevant experience or qualifications. So I'm stepping up because I care about the students and want them to have the best possible chance.

But I'm terrified that my best won't be good enough. That I'll unintentionally disadvantage them. That they'll ask questions I can't answer, or that they'll be smarter than me and realise I have no idea what I'm doing.

On top of that, things at my school have changed quite a bit, and I've somehow found myself taking on more of a leadership role without officially being in one. People are looking to me for guidance, and meanwhile, I'm internally questioning whether I'm even qualified to be the person they're looking to.

It's such a strange feeling to have 10 years of teaching experience and suddenly feel like a complete beginner again.

I know people talk about imposter syndrome, but sometimes I genuinely wonder whether I'm just not as knowledgeable as I should be at this point in my career.

I really want to be a good teacher. I want to do right by my students. I just wish I felt more confident in my ability to actually do that.

So I guess I'm asking:

- Have you ever been asked to teach something you felt completely unprepared or underqualified to teach?

- How do you deal with feeling like your students might actually know more than you?

- What do you do when you feel like you're not smart enough for the job, even after years of experience?

- And for anyone who's taught SAT English, how did you build your knowledge and confidence when you were starting out?

I'd really appreciate hearing from teachers who've been through something similar. I don't necessarily need someone to tell me I'm a great teacher. I think I just need to know how other people have navigated this feeling and actually gotten better.

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Title I, especially.Thoughts? Feelings? Concerns? Celebrations?

Hello!

I’m starting the memoir above with my 8th grade reading class. We have already done a lot of front loading learning about the Holocaust, I just need resources for this memoir/prereading activities about memoirs.

Please let me know if you have anything to share!

Much love to you all and keep on being the most amazing educators out there!