I'm pleased that some of you are participating in the IDOE online book club. If you are not participating, I think you would still benefit from reading the posts at http://goo.gl/TDl134. I won't be repeating the discussion points from the IDOE, so if you want to join them, you still have time.
While the IDOE discussion focused on mentors (past, present and how you are a mentor), I was intrigued by a paragraph on pg 13: "If I could go back in time and offer my new-teacher self some advice, I might remind myself..." So...your discussion assignment for this week is: read chapter one, take a look at the IDOE discussions of chapter 1 and then write the letter or statement that you would write if you could go back in time to visit your "new-teacher self" and offer advice or encouragements based on your years of experience.
I like this part of the chapter also. I am not sure I would use the word “remind”… I think “advise” or “encourage” work better. So I wrote “Beginning teacher Kim” a letter from me.
ReplyDeleteDear Kim,
During your teaching career, you are going to encounter many successes, many challenges and some failures. Successes may be those wonderful “light bulb” moments your students will experience. Those are some of the most rewarding moments in the classroom. Challenges will include time management as you juggle preparing the daily lesson plans, grading assignments and other general duties. As you try new strategies, you may encounter some that work for others but do not work for you. However, you can view these as a learning tool. You can alter the strategies to find methods that work for you.
As you will learn over the years seeking out individuals to help with your questions and ideas is invaluable. Don’t rely on one person or even one department. Teachers in other departments have many strategies that can be adapted to work for you. Office personnel often have good common sense advice. Reach out to teachers in other school districts. Collaboration with others will allow you to incorporate new ideas and approaches.
Always remember what it is like to be the student as you put your fingerprint on their future.
Yours truly,
Future Kim
Here is the advice I would give to my new teacher self:
ReplyDelete-Have the courage to try new things and to keep improving. As a teacher you must constantly be evolving. You can’t create a set of lesson plans your 1st year and expect to still be effective doing the same thing years later. Teaching is about learning and growing along with your students.
-You will make mistakes, and this is okay. Learn from those mistakes and become a better teacher. Some lessons will be great and others will fail. Accepting the failures and trying again will help you grow as an educator.
-Find colleagues who are excited about teaching as you are. Talk and meet with others who want to share ideas and try new things. Don’t waste time trying to work with negative colleagues who complain about everything. Collaborate with others that energize and encourage you.
-Take care of yourself. Teaching is a very demanding profession that can consume your life. You will be no use to your students or yourself if you are tired and burnout. Take time to do things you enjoy. Get plenty of sleep, eat well, and spend time with your family.
-Organization is the key to survival. Develop a system for grading, make-up work, contacting parents, making plans, meeting with students, etc. The demands of teaching are great and the better organized you are the easier the daily tasks will be.
-Remember there will be some tough days and you might question why you became a teacher. There will also be many moments when you know you helped a student and these moments will bring you great joy. The good days will outweigh the bad days so hang in there. You can make a difference.
Dear MaryRose,
ReplyDeleteYour teaching career is going to take many many twists and turns and along the way you are going to meet many people who are going to influence the direction you take. Seek out others who can show you how to be better organized in preparing your lessons, grading, and behavioral charts. RELAX - take time for you. Enjoy your time with family and friends, make time for them. LEARN - from those around you and from professional organizations. Seek out those who have been there and done what you want to do. They have learned from experience. LAUGH- you will teach children at every grade level and you will learn so much from them. Treasure them, write down funny things that happen, quotes, stories, because you will treasure these memories in the future. Remember that even on those days when you think you cant do this anymore...you make a difference in the lives of children and they make one in yours.
Dear Miss P.,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I encourage you to embrace this nickname quickly. Yes, it may produce a chuckle or two, but it keeps your name from being misspelled, and in time you'll appreciate it.
Secondly, don't give up. This first year is a tough one, but you can do it. I know there will be times when you end the day in tears, but take heart...this too shall pass and future years will be filled with great things. You can do it! Plus, that boy that takes up most of your energy and who you must discipline and work with daily, one day he'll return to your classroom and thank you for being his favorite teacher. This will happen the spring before he heads out to join the military. Your heart will swell. Then, when his picture pops up during the Veteran's Day program, your eyes will water. So, remember, even during difficult and exhausting years, you will make a difference.
Also, I know you feel isolated being the only general education class downstairs, but eventually you'll have other 3rd grade teachers downstairs. Then, one year in the distant future, all five of you will be in the same area and a team may actually form. Hold on to the knowledge that one day...it will happen.
Along the way, you'll be joined by another teacher who becomes your mentor, your planning partner, and your friend. Enjoy each year and learn all you can. When she retires, it will be difficult, but you'll be able to see that it is now your turn to be "that person" to someone else.
Also, learn every year. Yes, you'll hear "lifelong learner" more times than you'll want, but it's true. You need to always be learning. Learn from your mistakes. Learn from what others do well. Learn from what you see and don't appreciate. Learn. By learning from every experience and every employee, you'll become a more effective teacher.
Learn from the teacher's aide...how to better plan and communicate.
Learn from the administrator...how to jump through state-mandated hoops.
Learn from the cafeteria worker...where your students need to increase in manners and respect.
Learn from the custodian...how the "look" of your room doesn't matter as much as what happened in it during the day.
Learn.
Most of all...learn from your students. As time passes, you'll run into former students at practically every restaurant in town, and they'll ask you if you still "read the same way". Don't ever stop becoming characters and sound effects. Always be an actor when reading. They'll tell you their favorite unit, which is generally the Christmas Around the World Unit. So, don't ever become complacent and just do what you always did. Fresh is good, but don't mess with things that work. And, they'll remind you of "little things" that you do without noticing that made their day. So, always try to make their day.
Finally, you may want to get stock in purple ink pens. You'll use them for the next 20+ years.
You got this, Miss P! Don't give up!
Sincerely,
The Older & Wiser Miss P.
What great advice! I love "don't mess with things that work".
DeleteMy advice to 'first-year me" is different for the first-year college-teacher me and the first-year HS teacher me. Some things apply no matter what level is being taught.
ReplyDelete(both) Be nice to everybody and ask others for help/advice/information, even if they seem like they don't have time for you. (I tend to be shy and think that asking for help or advice is an imposition on somebody else's busy life.) Don't assume that asking questions makes you appear stupid.
(HS especially) Remember that your students are not always going to be able to concentrate on class. There are a million things going on in their lives, and most teens have not learned how to compartmentalize when they really need to do so. Always try to engage them and keep them on task, but try not to take it personally if they cannot forget about their grandmother in the hospital / cheating boyfriend/girlfriend / best friend's meltdown over (insert teen drama here). I don't mean this to trivialize teen drama - it is not trivial to them, and it is important to find a way to balance the everyday (and sometimes bigger) distractions with the need to focus on learning.
(both) Keep looking for ways to make class more fun and more challenging. Students don't like to be bored - that means not just finding fun activities, but keeping the class challenging. "Easy" classes might be what students say they want, but they really do want interesting things to do with their brains, too. I know it's in there somewhere - keep looking for new hooks and ways to challenge those students who want more! PS It doesn't always mean technology, but if you have the means to incorporate technology, make sure it is with purpose and not just because you can.
(both) Keep a good supply of red pens, and don't be afraid to use them! Just be sure to explain to students that the red ink is not to make them feel bad, but to help them skim the work and find corrections quickly. Don't take the short cut and just circle errors or give credit just for completion - show the corrections so that students will know that written work is not just busywork for them.
Focus on the students and their learning, and try to stress less about outside observations and evaluations. The end-of-semester evaluations from students are more helpful to your teaching than any one-shot observation of your classroom. The students are there every day, they know what helps them understand the material, and their comments will help guide you in what works, what doesn't, and where the line is between poles (one student says you use the book/target language too much, one says you use it too little, for ex.). Peer or administrator observations may go in your file, but they cannot help with those things that really matter to the learning process.
Dear "Peddie"
ReplyDeleteYou must learn how to use technology.! I just figured out how to do the blog "thing". Seriously, I am handicapped in this area and need to remind myself as a "new teacher" that I am also learning, and it is important to be kind and patient with yourself.
Be organized!! Find resources that will give you those charts, and tally sheets that make life so much easier when tracking behaviors, and progress. Remember the old cliché don't reinvent the wheel. By all means, never, never wait until the last minute to get things done. Do not be afraid to ask for help.
Realize that within the school there are people who are not in the classroom all day, yet they keep things running. Get to know your secretaries, cafeteria staff, maintenance workers, and bus drivers. They touch your students each day and can be a valuable asset to you. They work hard too!
Be respectful of your students. Applaud even the small successes as this gives encouragement to keep working toward even greater ones.
Listen to all your peers, choose to follow what you know is best practice. You don't have to agree with everything.
When your goal is to get a student to accomplish a task or a desirable behavior, give them two or three choices in how they will do that, let them own the decision and deal with the outcome they have chosen.
There are some days when it is better to "let sleeping dogs lay". We all have bad days and pushing to accomplish to much may not be worthwhile.
Laugh at yourself!
Take time at the end of the day to reflect on what worked, and what didn't. What made it a great day or not so great day. You can design your "tomorrow".
Dear new teacher Angy
ReplyDeletePlease realize that where you are today is a long way from where you will end up. You are a strong person and you will need that strength as you move through your teaching career.
Know that students are all the same. Whether they are 62 or 12, students want you to treat them with respect and to value what they think and say. Sometimes your students will be silly, disrespectful, boneheaded or rude, but you can't expect them to become better adults unless you give them examples to emulate. Sometimes you will be the only adult that a student will encounter daily who reads, bathes on a regular basis, speaks without using profanity, dresses appropriately, believes that school is important or...(fill the blank)... They will watch you daily waiting for you to mess up...so don't mess up...and when you do, acknowledge that you made a mistake and apologize. It is hard to gain a kids respect, but it is easy to lose it. Strive every day to keep that respect. NEVER tell a student that the reason you want them to do something is because you said so...if you don't know the reason for doing something, don't ask your students to do it!
You will work with a lot of people. You may not always agree with them, but you will have to deal with it. My best advice is to hang in there. Realize that you will be here long after the administrators. Don't get caught up in the politics of school (it will drive you crazy) and choose your battles wisely. Don't let people bully you, but recognize when it is best to let others have their way. Ultimately, you are not responsible for other's decisions and they will be the ones to pay the price for their decisions.
Be happy and enjoy what you do. If the time comes that you dislike what you doing more often than like it...you will know that it is time to move on. Don't be afraid to change schools, try a different job position or even a whole new career. Life is to short to stay in a job that makes you unhappy.
Keep looking forward. Life will be good! Not so new teacher Angy
I love everyone's posts. Makes me think of all the things I forgot to put in my letter to myself. LOL. So many good points
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