Author: Dr. Monica Bomengen
In the last post I left off with tip #9 for first year teachers, and now it is time to finish what I started! So get out your notepad and pencil, and get ready to learn!
10. Professional Development:
As a teacher, you should have the philosophy that one never stops learning. After all, this philosophy complements your profession! Therefore, remember that you, too, have not stopped (nor should stop) learning- ever. Now, as a first year teacher, you will already have a massive, intense amount of work on your plate… well, I am about to add another thing to it! Sorry! This one is important, though. (They all kind of are, so you really aren’t off the hook at all!) A way to continue your development as a teacher is to read, read, read! Read books on different teaching strategies, unique management styles, subject matter, and other elements that can improve your classroom from the very beginning. I recommend Ron Clark’s The Essential 55. It is full of amazing techniques and rules that can be easily implemented and used successfully. You can also develop yourself professionally by learning from your peers. Listen to other teachers, seasoned or not, and decide what you want to try in your own classroom. Remember, you are just starting, so any advice can help. Just remember, you don’t need to take all of the advice you receive; if it sounds reasonable and agrees with extensive literature on the matter, try it! If it doesn’t seem right or connect with reliable sources, graciously accept the advice, but do not implement it. Remember that your first priority in the school is your class.
11. Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew:
This really speaks for itself. Remember the age group with which you are dealing, safety, and availability of materials. If you cannot make a certain project happen at a certain time, don’t! Save yourself the stress! Perhaps plan to do the project at a different time or pitch the idea altogether. You should enjoy your career! Yes, you will have difficulties- it isn’t all fun and games- but in general, you shouldn’t be seriously struggling with putting together a project or lesson. If it makes you crazy or endangers your students, just stop! Challenges are good in moderation.
12. Students are Not Friends:
This one was tough for me to learn, especially in my internship with 21 third graders who thought I was thebomb.com at first. I say “at first” because I eventually had to take over teaching, which meant I wasn’t Mrs. Nice Girl anymore. This was so difficult because just weeks before, I was simply a bystander, reading to them on occasion but mainly watching my mentor. They thought I was cool. They liked me. Then we got to a weird part of the internship where I was trying desperately to transfer into the “teacher” role and trying to maintain that friendly relationship with the students. Did this work? Absolutely not. Management was a huge hassle. I had to decide that I was going to be the teacher. Truth be told, they hated me for a while, but near the end, I could tell that they loved me in a different way- a respectful student to teacher way. Success! Remember, as a teacher, you are required to be a mommy/daddy, psychologist, doctor, therapist, and all sorts of things you shouldn’t have to be considering your salary, but there is one thing you are not required to be. That is a friend. When you gain the respect of your students, you will gain their love, trust, and attention to your lessons.
13. Take Time to Develop Management:
The longer you take to develop your management rules and procedures, the easier it will be to manage your classroom for the rest of the year. The older your students are, the less time it will take to implement rules and procedures. However, no matter how old, it will most likely take some time for the students to fully remember and practice the rules of your classroom. You will have some sacrificial lambs- those few “good” students who will be the first (and many times last) to break any particular rule. However, after they take the repercussion for their poor choices, the other students will quickly catch on to the rules and your job will be ten times easier! Therefore, don’t worry about immediately getting ahead or staying on track with the curriculum or other things because by the time the other teachers are falling back and trying to stay afloat due to classroom management issues and slow-as-molasses transitions, your classroom will be moving like clockwork.
14. Read, Read, Read:
I already discussed reading to develop professionally, and that is true. However, with this tip I am not referring to you reading to yourself. You need to read aloud to your students every day. Let me repeat that. Read to your students every single solitary day!!!!!! Reading aloud to your students is an excellent way to model fluency. It will also help them with phonological awareness as they listen to you read each word properly utilizing your use of sight words and phonics. Also take time each day to have students read aloud. Many times this can be done through provided curriculum. An effective reading strategy is to have every student follow along with his or her finger in the book while listening to you or a fellow student read. This, too, helps students with their knowledge of phonics and their practice with fluency. It is extremely important to read aloud, read with, and have students individually read aloud daily.
15. Make Certain You Know All of the Bell Schedules:
You should never miss a deadline or a scheduled appointment. Mrs. Harris, a seasoned teacher in southern California, explained that she posts a bulletin board right next to her desk so that she will never find herself fumbling when a transition is occurring. These days, with school systems’ accommodations for students’ needs in specific areas, it is important to realize that some students are in specific reading programs or other programs in which they need to be pulled from the classroom at specific times so that their needs are adequately met. Trust me, as a teacher, the last thing you want a struggling reader to miss his or her reading program. The more fluidly he or she reads, the better he or she will do in your classroom. In their specific programs, these students are learning specific reading strategies that will help them significantly in your classroom and in their lives! Reading is the absolute core subject area; all other subjects involve reading in some form or fashion, and they should! Therefore, you do not want your students to miss their programs, so make sure that you know the complex schedules. In addition to her advice on the bulletin board, Mrs. Harris also highly recommends highlighting your grade-level information on schedules- this includes “duties” (car pickup, recess, etc.). It is imperative that you never miss duty. This will come off extremely poor for you, especially as a first year teacher.
16. Know the School Discipline Plan:
This kind of goes along with tip #15. Mrs. Harris suggests that upon receiving the handbook for your new school, you should read it front to back to understand the discipline plan and all of the other policies of the school. She also suggests that the less time something is taken to the principal to handle, the better. If you can deal with an issue in the classroom (safely), then you should.
17. Sign Up for Committees:
Make sure you know the specific committees, the times they meet, and the commitment level needed for the committees. You should most definitely sign up for some; however, be aware that you already have a lot on your plate. Therefore, you, once again, should not bite off more than you can chew. Remember to check out the amount of time they spend meeting and the level of commitment particular committees take. Since it is your first year, go for the easier ones! You are not a superhero- although your students will believe you are.
18. Relax:
Once again, this is advice from Mrs. Harris. Relax when you have the time. If you get vacation time, use it! Don’t spend your vacation busting your behind so that by the time you get back to work, you are still exhausted! Take the time you need to unwind and relax so that you can be refreshed. This is important for any job, but I feel that being a teacher is such an emotionally and physically taxing career, that teachers need to relax more than anyone!
Conclusion
In conclusion, as a first year teacher, the most important thing to remember is why you are doing what you are doing. Remember your love of teaching and your love of students. Eventually everything will fall into place if you truly love what you do. Why? Because you will have incentive to remember and implement the fore mentioned tips, and that incentive is teaching children. Period. That is all you really need.
P.S.
To read the first 9 tips for first year teachers read: "9 Tips for First Year Teachers"
If you are a first year Reading Teacher the following resources will help you start teaching at the top of your game:
Reading Horizons FREE Webinars for Reading Teachers
