I have decided to reflect on my four years of teaching experience and come up with a few helpful hints for new teachers. There are only so many things that school can teach you. I have found that no amount of schooling or reading can fully prepare you for what is to come. The old saying is true--experience truly is the best teacher. And so, I've prepared a working list of teaching tips. Hopefully my lessons learned will save you some trials and errors.
1. Cutesy up your room for not only your student's sake, but also your own. Kids (no matter the age) respond well in rooms with bright colors and themes. I didn't really see the point in spending a lot of money on decorations for my room the first year because I was already broke. I thought the cutesy factor only applied to the sweet babies in elementary school. I figured as long as I was a good teacher then the kids would be engaged. True, but I saw the error in this thinking when my instructional money came in and I started decorating a bit more. Your room decorations almost become your brand in a way. It makes the students feel more connected to you and identify with your classroom. Also, it helps you. You're going to spend more time in your classroom than you are anywhere else--especially the first year. You might as well spend the extra money to make it feel like "you" rather than some florescent-lighted cinder-block room.
2. Get a venting partner--and don't make it your significant other. I'm sure you've heard this from your professors and in the books you read, but it's so important that I'm saying it again to you. There are going to be (multiple) times that your students, co-workers, or system in general are going to rustle your feathers. And, if they don't then you probably don't have an opinion. Accept that it's going to happen--no matter how much you adore your job and the people involved in it. Frustration just comes with the territory. I say not to make it your significant other because you need to talk to a fellow teacher. A significant other can sympathize with you, but you're going to want someone you can empathize with you. Otherwise, you're going to be over-explaining and saying, "you just can't understand unless you are a teacher".
3. If you don't feel like you're being mean then you're not being mean enough. I know to the non-teacher (especially a parent) this sounds bad. [If you have a problem with this statement then I gladly invite you to attend to 30 children of the same age and maintain ultimate control of the room. That's right, I said it.] To you, it seems mean; to kids, it seems strict. There's nothing wrong with being strict. You can always ease up later.
4. The kids are not your friends. This one is a hard one. You love them, and you want them to love you in return. Don't worry, they do. You cannot be afraid to punish a student who is in the wrong because you don't want them to dislike you. If you keep this attitude then you have just made yourself a human doormat and lost the respect of your students. Also, when you do get around to punishing a child after you've let another slide, they're going to say you're being unfair. And they're right. You have got be consistent.
5. The more organized you are, the better. You need to have a specific place for students to turn in their work, and organize it by period. Then you need to have a specific place for you to put graded papers that need to be passed back to students, organized by period. If you are one that doesn't like the look of clutter, then you need to have a specific place for papers that need to be graded, organized by period. I am just fine with clutter so I keep papers in need of grading in the same place that the kids turned them in.
6. There are going to be times (several times a day, actually) when you're going to hear some ridiculousness and you're going to think, "Did they really just ask that?" or "Did I really just explain that?" or "Wow, you're my future. (in a sarcastic tone)". Go ahead and prepare for it as best you know how. I'm not going to lie, there's really no true way to prepare you for it because your mind cannot possibly fathom the things you're going to hear and be asked. But you can try. And expecting it is half the value--at least it gets rid of the shock value.
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