Teaching is hard. We know that. If you are thinking about becoming a teacher and do not know that, stop and do something else. Your first year teaching will feel nearly impossible. My caffeine intake doubled and my sleep, well what sleep. I did learn a few things my first year teaching though that new teachers can add to their tool box. My suggestions are not related to instruction best practices, but small lessons that made a large impact.
First, I smiled. You can be strict without being mean. To get students invested in your class, which is essential, you need to show them you care. Attend sporting events, write notes, and ask students about their lives. Second, I selectively listened to advice. Not all suggestions will work with your teaching style or your values. Implement what you believe in and skip what you don’t. Lastly, I used the power of food. It is important to build relationships not just with your students, but fellow teachers, staff and administration. Whether it is a thank you note or breakfast at a meeting, simple gestures go a long way to get students at tutoring or help with your attendance. Your school is your community and you want to be a positive part of it.
First, I smiled. You can be strict without being mean. To get students invested in your class, which is essential, you need to show them you care. Attend sporting events, write notes, and ask students about their lives. Second, I selectively listened to advice. Not all suggestions will work with your teaching style or your values. Implement what you believe in and skip what you don’t. Lastly, I used the power of food. It is important to build relationships not just with your students, but fellow teachers, staff and administration. Whether it is a thank you note or breakfast at a meeting, simple gestures go a long way to get students at tutoring or help with your attendance. Your school is your community and you want to be a positive part of it.
1. Smile. New teachers are often told the best thing they can do for classroom management is not smile during the first six weeks. I could not disagree with this advice more. Yes, the first six weeks is imperative to set the culture of your classroom for the year. It is much easier to ease up on rules midway through the year than to start enforcing. So have rules, enforce them fairly, and do not let kids get away with what they want, but smile. A strict teacher does not have to be a mean teacher. Take the time to set a positive culture in your classroom. Do you learn in environments that you do not want to be in? Do you want your child to come home from school saying their teacher is rude, mean and they are scared in class? I don’t. Think back to the environments in your favorite classes growing up, what did that teacher do? Why did you like to be in classroom? Just as important as it is to set up rules, teacher must show they care in the first six weeks. Write them notes, put smiley faces on their papers, and attend a sporting event. If you notice it’s a bad day for a student, find them in your off period and ask what’s wrong. GET TO KNOW THEM. In my experience, students will work if they know you care about them as people.
2. If you don’t believe it, don’t do it. You will be overwhelmed with suggestions for things to implement in your class. From your school courses, to administration, to fellow teachers, everyone has an idea. Listen, reflect on the advice, and think about how they are trying to help your classroom, but ultimately trust your ideas. My best lesson and class structures were ones that I believe in. I was told to introduce a stop light noise level system at the beginning of my first year. After a week of implementation, I had zero by in from my class because I didn’t buy in. Since then I have realized the importance in believing in everything you do as a teacher. Make your class yours from how it looks to what you do.
3. My last piece of advice is food. For me, food was not only a way to create incentives in my classroom from tutoring to class participation, but a way to create relationships with the staff at my school. Fellow teachers, administration, and staff are equally as important to build relationships with as your students. Get to know the staff at the front office, the janitors, the veteran teachers, and of course your administration. Write thank you notes when people do you a favor, bring breakfast for a meeting, and take the time to talk to people in the building. Beyond the selfish reason of you never know when you may need a favor, it’s important to be a part of the community you will be spending most of your time with.
2. If you don’t believe it, don’t do it. You will be overwhelmed with suggestions for things to implement in your class. From your school courses, to administration, to fellow teachers, everyone has an idea. Listen, reflect on the advice, and think about how they are trying to help your classroom, but ultimately trust your ideas. My best lesson and class structures were ones that I believe in. I was told to introduce a stop light noise level system at the beginning of my first year. After a week of implementation, I had zero by in from my class because I didn’t buy in. Since then I have realized the importance in believing in everything you do as a teacher. Make your class yours from how it looks to what you do.
3. My last piece of advice is food. For me, food was not only a way to create incentives in my classroom from tutoring to class participation, but a way to create relationships with the staff at my school. Fellow teachers, administration, and staff are equally as important to build relationships with as your students. Get to know the staff at the front office, the janitors, the veteran teachers, and of course your administration. Write thank you notes when people do you a favor, bring breakfast for a meeting, and take the time to talk to people in the building. Beyond the selfish reason of you never know when you may need a favor, it’s important to be a part of the community you will be spending most of your time with.
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