Steep Learning Curve

I have a new appreciation for that phrase. I've never really thought about what it means..which is weird since I'm a math teacher and I'm all about slopes and curves..it's an appropriate picture in my head, though.

I was reminded during a conversation today that the first few years of teaching--and especially the first year of teaching--must have a steep learning curve. It makes sense. You gotta learn somehow, right? Right..but it sucks sometimes. It's difficult to be told that what you're doing is still not enough. "You're doing great..but..." I know I shouldn't expect to be perfect. But I know that what I'm doing matters, and I'm not going to blow it off either. I want it to be perfect. So I'm frustrated that I am still so far from where I want things to be. And I'm frustrated that it's not just me being hard on myself. People notice. There isn't time for me to learn how to do it well. It's just expected that I will do things well. Which is good, really..it should be that way. I just need to learn to keep up.

Thus the steep learning curve.