ABSTRACT
The career The plunge The first year of teaching is like the first swim across the deep end of the pool, like the first solo drive through London traffic after passing the driving test. The teacher emerges from his training conscious that the worst is over but by no means sure that the improvements will be rapid. As with the impact of teaching practice, the new teachers find themselves almost swamped by a flood of events; teaching material, much of which, if new, has to be prepared; pupils' work needs to be marked; classes have to be met on time and taught; a sea of new faces, events and procedures have to be memorized and stored for future use. The ideas and skills developed during the training year are found to be inadequate for the new task and the new responsibilities.
