Top 10 Tips for New Teachers

I am entering my 6th year of teaching and I like to think I have learned a few things along the way!

This blog post is not a play by play on teaching.....this is my advice from what I have experienced. If you are a pre-service teacher I would read many resources on what to expect and tips from other teachers!

#1 Find a mentor who is positive, upbeat, and encouraging. You may be assigned a mentor and hopefully you get a good one! If you don't get a good one, don't despair just keep you eyes and ears open for the teacher who is friendly and positive and align yourself with them! Bonus: Make friends with the school secretary and janitors!! They can be life savers for you!

#2 Be fair but firm, a great teacher I know gave me the advice to start out the year hard and then soften up later. It is much easier to start out hard and loosen the reigns rather than starting out lacking with discipline and then try to reign it in. Students want to know what to expect when they are in your room, they need rules and boundaries. Be fair, firm, and clear in your expectation right out the gate to set yourself up for a successful year in regard to classroom management.

A student who I would say needed a lot of support in the classroom, built this model Bat-mobile for me his first year in my room, (I have the luxury of having my students for 3 years) Before 8th grade graduation I asked him if he wanted to take it home, he said....no it belongs here with you. It melted my heart. My relationship with this student was strong but he would be the first to say, he needed a lot from me in order to stay on track in class. I was always fair though!

#3 Make personal connections and take the time to build relationships with your students. They want to know you care about them as people. They want to share common interests with you. If you take nothing else from this list....this might be the most important thing to know. I genuinely LOVE my students and I believe they know this without a shadow of a doubt. It makes such a difference in the day to day interactions and creates long lasting memories.

LOVE!! <3

#4 Create a safe and inviting place to learn, a place where students will take risks in their learning. A place where every student is valued and where every student feels welcome.

I work in a VERY small school and we take our motto VERY seriously!

#5 DO NOT TAKE YOUR WORK HOME!! Yes, you read that right.....don't take it home and DON'T stay at work for hours after the school day ends! Figure out how to budget your time and how to get as much done as you can before you go home. The last thing you will want to do when you go home is grade papers....you will be exhausted! Get used to the idea that your job is never done.

#6 Collaborate with other teachers, most people think teachers are stuck in their classrooms and are expected to figure things out on their own...this is SO wrong! I love working with my colleagues on cross curricular projects and units. Ask for help when you need it, you are new....there are no expectations that you are going to know everything from the start!

#7 Be professional at all times, you don't want anyone to ever say you acted in an unprofessional manner.

#8 Have good communication with parents, no parent wants to hear that a teacher who has been having difficulty with their child for months without any communication. Communicate good things too, parents love to hear good things about their child, especially if they are used to only hearing bad things!

#9 Plan and prep ahead of time, it is a set up for failure to not have lessons or activities planned or prepped ahead of time. Go a step further and do a quick run through yourself!

#10 Take the time to create organizational strategies that work for you. There is nothing more frustrating or stressful than not being able to find that one copy you need or that one piece of student work you know you have but can't find!

Bonus: HAVE FUN!! When you are having fun doing your job, your students know and they will be more likely to follow your lead!

Just one of the ways I have fun at my job!! :)