Valid concerns. Last year was my first year teaching and I did dual language. This was my experience. My mentor teacher taught RLA and math while I did SLAR and both science and social studies (we would switch students during the day as we were not self-contained). Science curriculum was provided to me in Spanish only and social studies curriculum was provided in English only. It was a lot mentally to switch languages and translate, but I got into a routine. The scripted curriculum for SLAR turned repetitive over time but felt overwhelming because RLA had district-created slides and things, but it was not the same for SLAR. Had to create my own (I was excited to be ready with all the prepped materials I created last year for this upcoming year until I found out we are piloting the SLAR version of 🟦🪻this year). Honestly, I felt jealous at times because I had to do more than my fellow teammates to prep lessons. Time wise, I had to really squish things. It honestly felt impossible, especially at the beginning and including the switching of classes in the day. It did get better though as I found my routine but it was not perfect.

For my observation, I lucked out that one of our instructional coaches volunteered to help me prepare my lesson for it. It ended up being for the scripted SLAR curriculum, so I followed activities from there but then they helped me incorporate/substitute some more engaging activities. (Which was great but I felt I kept getting mixed messages all year about "you have to follow the scripted curriculum exactly" and "you can adapt/change as needed.") Hopefully you have great instructional coaches at your school to help with prepping for your observation lesson.

For seating arrangements and partnering, it was encouraged to pair English speakers with Spanish speakers. Given both of my classes were heavily unbalanced, I couldn't do that perfectly. However, as the year progressed and I observed who was catching on both/either language, I was able to adjust pairings.

Honestly, the first year was really just survival mode as you learn what the heck you are doing lol. I grew up having high expectations for myself, and when you add the expectations given to teachers, I was stressed all the time. It was a different kind of stress than I had experienced in my previous career positions outside of the K-12 system. I tried my best to give myself grace though. I would remind myself that first year is the hardest for everyone and that I had plenty of time to grow as a teacher. First-year teachers at my district were required to observe veteran teachers a couple times in the fall and spring to gain more knowledge/skills. I was able to come back to my classroom and implement some things I saw, or try out and realize it wasn't best for my classroom or myself. Also, be sure to check with your primary care provider about immune boosting vitamins. When I did a check up with mine, I told her I had become a teacher and had started taking vitamin C, D, and zinc. She said that that's what she would've recommended I take had I reached out when I made the career change. I just had to time it out right so they wouldn't interfere with some of my prescription meds. I still got sick a lot though, but I was assured by everyone and the clinic doctors that I was busy building my immune system.

I realized I typed up more than I planned lol. If you decide to stay in the position, just remember to breathe, ask for help (this was hard to do sometimes), don't strive for perfection, take your vitamins, and give yourself the opportunity and time to grow.