So, I'll preface this by saying the thing every professor of education ever says... There are so many unknowns and every situation is unique. There's no "one" answer to classroom problems; it depends on the personality of your class, the personality of the teacher, the situation, etc. With that said, I'm hoping to create a list of universals that can be individually applied, based on lessons I've learned during my first year teaching experience. I'm going to focus on what going to class doesn't teach you, so no Bloom's Taxonomy here.
Also know that my teaching experience is unique and has a set of challenges most teachers don't have (teaching at one school once a week and a second school four days a week). I have had to adapt and overcome these obstacles, or at least to make the obstacles more manageable.
1. Listen to advice of teachers. They have techniques and knowledge that have been practically applied.
2. COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR PARENTS. Never have a parent coming to you asking, "Why didn't you tell me Johnny was getting a D?" or something like it as much as you can. It is never a pleasant conversation; no matter what Johnny did or didn't do to earn that grade, it will be seen as your fault. You have to be on top of your game from marking period one - having all the grades in on time, informing the parents well ahead of time. Otherwise, grades have a snowball effect - if one marking period is off, somehow, every marking period is off, one way or another.
If parents don't see you as working toward the success of your child, they will see you as an enemy. Make sure you have a good relationship with the parents. This was one of my *top* newbie errors. If you don't have clear communication, it will easily make your job extremely unpleasant. There have been days that I didn't think I'd make it to the end of another week. The other thing is this: sometimes, you have support. Most times, you're on your own.
If you do end up in a situation like this, always stay calm and listen to the parents. They are there out of concern for their child, not because they hate you. Always show appreciation for their input and for their concern and involvement, and always find something positive (and truthful) to say about their child. Be able to defend your position with paperwork. Always greet them with a smile and make them feel at ease before any meeting starts. Even the most intimidating meetings will have a positive outcome if you do these things.
Just remember, though: you are the teacher.
Meeting with parents is always enlightening. Everyone walks away learning something. It always has a positive outcome, even if it doesn't always make you feel good or stress-free. Always look for the positive.
3. Be organized. Know where you keep everything. Grade everything within one week of getting it, and then record the grade on paper and electronically. Know who's missing what and inform those students regularly. If it becomes a chronic issue, alert a parent. Parents can be a strong force and have the power to affect how a student performs and acts in your class.
4. Take the first day or week for setting up classroom management strategies and learning everyone's name. I have had fewer problems this year because I spent day one SOLELY on why we were learning and what I expected.
5. Come up with some hand signal or something that means "be quiet"/"pay attention" (in an age-appropriate way). There is no reason you should have to humiliate yourself and scream and lose your voice (or sound whiny) to quiet a room. Have some respect for your vocal cords - you already use them quite a bit in this profession, and even the best class will get cabin fever and start acting out. There have been many a day I have come home with a slightly sore throat.
6. Love your students, even when it's tough. I genuinely love my students because they are very unique. Sometimes, the uniqueness involves quirky behavior, for which you must continually correct them. Love doesn't mean "like". There are some days I don't like what they do, to me or to other students. I love them always because I always want the best for them - success, happiness; discovering how to be a good human being. ALWAYS AND UNCONDITIONALLY.
7. Be positive about work and be professional at all times. Social media is NOT the outlet for work stress, minor or major. If you have a problem, talk to that person like an adult. If that person is a student, talk to his or her parent. Never say anything you wouldn't want someone else to quote. Besides, no one cares if you complain, and everyone loves a cheerful giver.
8. Be confident. Fake it until you make it. Teaching is maybe 5% what you know and 95% being able to go with the flow and make executive decisions on the spot. The kids look to you to be an authority - you need to be that for them, no matter how imperfect you are. You're not God - you're the adult in the room. Be the leaf and go with the flow.
9. Be prepared to lose your weekends. Teaching is the only profession where it's expected that you work on your own time at home and not get paid for it, volunteer after school, go to staff meetings, and still go above and beyond for your job. I have spent many weekends lesson planning, grading, creating assignments, and trying to think of ways to make it all fun all at once - and I am working 4-5 part-time jobs and making a pittance. I don't even work full-time. You must LOVE what you do. At the same time, a certain amount of organization and time during the week helps decrease the amount you do on your days off. This job is more stressful than you expect, even if you're prepared. With that said, it won't kill you to have a weekend out if you need it to feel like a human being once in a while.
10. Know that you want to be a teacher BEFORE you enter the profession. Get some experience doing something minor scale first. Listen to the feedback you get. If it's very good, take it as a good sign and go from there. If not, truly consider changing careers - it's only going to get harder from there.
11. Focus on other people when you are not at work. This may just be me, but if someone asks me about teaching, I will destroy conversations because I can discuss it forever - and I'm a blabber mouth, so I might say good and bad. I made it a policy in my personal life NOT to talk about work unless I have to, or I have some short and entertaining/lighthearted tale to tell. I would rather hear about YOUR day than tell you about mine.
12. Be prepared to no longer be "cool". You may be young and vibrant and know all the latest bands etc, but the minute it comes out of your mouth, you are "old" and not cool. Be personable and relatable, but give up on cool. Remember: you're the adult in the room.
13. Avoid gossip and negative people.
14. Get to know your students and stay after school. I try very hard to give students EVERY chance to succeed, and I will do what it takes.
15. Dress professionally. How you dress is how people will treat you. If you dress as though you're a force to be reckoned with, and have an attitude to match, you will be treated as such. Plus, older students (and other teachers!) recognize a sweet outfit and they love it! Compliments always make the day go just a little more smoothly.
16. When you are burning out, realize that you are human, not a work machine, and respect your human needs. Lonely? Contact a friend. Sick? Sleep, take the time off. Stressed? Give yourself the weekend. Exercise. Whatever you like to do, make some time for. You are not a slave. You are a teacher. It is a lot of work, but you must be ready to face the classroom every day. The kids need it, you need it, everyone needs it. Be kind to you.
17. Use group work and projects, but use it wisely. This is one of those classroom management things... Everyone wants to be that teacher the kids love, but if you don't structure your activities right, everyone will be unhappy no matter how lovely you are. I find if I just do group work, someone never has their work done because he or she goofed off all class. I like using jigsaw groups, because everyone in the group has a purpose. Fun is fine, but it needs focus.
18. Use rubrics. It's great you assigned a project.... Not so great when you have 113 to grade and then don't know what to do with them all. Rubrics save SO MUCH TIME!!!!!! It also prevents the agony of "do I give this kid an A or a B+?" It also helps the kids understand your expectations so they can produce the best work possible - and that's what you want, right!?!
19. Familiarize with how your subject area is applied outside the classroom, and always look up research in your field (or know where to point curious kids). Kids have TONS of questions - some related to your lesson, some not, and others that are things you've never thought of. You can pick and choose the questions you answer - you want to maximize the time you have.
20. NEVER say or believe that your kids are "dumb" or "stupid" or "bad" or "can't learn" - intelligence is *not* the reason kids fail. I believe that 100% based on the data I've collected for two marking periods.
There is more I could say, but this is what I can think of off the top of my head. Again, I'll take requests for topics! For now, I've talked more than enough...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments...