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Teacher Feature...
Common Mistakes Made by New Teachers Neophyte asks veteran teachers to reflect and advise
Posted by Holly on a Teachers.Net Chatboard
Hello! The responses: ♦♦♦ Posted by dot2:
♦♦♦ Posted by Carl: Mistake: Not planning enough for the kids to do AND trying to be their friend to get them to like you. ♦♦♦ Posted by Mrs. B.: I have a student teacher right now, and his biggest mistake is that he seems to think that speaking it, is teaching it. He lectures information instead of teaching it in a way that makes it accessible to all the students, including the low language skills students. You have to make the material "comprehensible" and do more than just read and talk about it. That doesn't always translate into being able to understand it enough to "write" about it or answer questions about it... Another thing: work on your organization, your classroom management...don't allow yourself to give too much work that has to be graded by you. I don't know how much of my time every night is spent grading, but it used to be EVERY night and weekend. I hardly had time for myself or my family during the school year. So start collecting tips and ideas NOW. A good source is the Teachers.Net Classroom Management Chatboard teachers.net/mentors/classroom_management. Also, connect with the parents as soon as possible. Parents can be a support or a living hell. (Sorry for the term but it is true.) I try and call each one at the beginning of year with a "positive" call. "Johnny got an "A" on his first quiz," or "Johnny was so helpful to me today." That opens the door, then I ask if they have any questions about school or what to expect. It has really been a help this year...Well, that should get you started... ♦♦♦ Posted by wig: Great advice given already. Have a good management plan to implement on day one and then stick to it. Harry Wong and Fred Jones are two great places to start. ♦♦♦ Posted by paula: Depending upon how old your students will be, these will be more or less important.
♦♦♦ Posted by Mary/SATX: You have received good advice for handling a classroom. Please allow me to offer some about handling the school:
♦♦♦ Posted by linda mci:
I hope this helps! ♦♦♦ Posted by Tommie: I just finished my very first year teaching. It was so hard for me to see everyone else doing everything with such ease and seeming to never make mistakes. I thought that I was the only teacher in the building who was ever unsure of herself. After I got to know the other teachers, I realized that this was not true. Everyone struggles at some time. Do the very best that you can, and it will all become much better by the 2nd semester. Good luck! I'm sure you'll do a great job! ♦♦♦ Posted by EMA (finishing up my 5th year of teaching): Good luck Holly! Remember: you cannot do everything...that is impossible. Use the triage System--you know, like they do in the ER--handle things that MUST be handled first... When angry...take a deep breath, count internally to 5...and then respond. This works especially well with those pesky administrators. LOL! This is you learning and training year. The kids will be fine. You will make mistakes. . .don't beat [the kids] or yourself up. Enjoy the children and you will have a fantastic ride... ♦♦♦ Posted by Jacey: Mistake: trying to do TOO much. Translation: not doing one thing well. Your first year you will be thrown into everything all at once with (sorry) little preparation. You go into your first job with all these wonderful ideas that you want to include, then once you get your job you find another group of things that you "must" do. If you try to include everything that you want to do, and everything that you "must" do, then add on top of that the normal things that go along with teaching--parent communication, report cards, paper work, meetings, etc.--you will find yourself overwhelmed. I got this advice in college, and actually it has served me well. Your first year you learn how to be a teacher. That means take the curriculum they give you and the manuals they give you and use it. Then each year, pick one subject that you want to perfect. Concentrate only on that one subject to make it perfect. Now that doesn't mean don't change things around in the other areas, but pick one and make that "yours." For example, this year I picked writing as my subject area that I was to focus on. Now as I have been doing that, I still have been tweeking math, social studies, etc. But next year I will have one heck of a good writing program. :) And I can pick something else to "make my own" I found that if you do too much then nothing ever gets to that point of excellence. Rather, decide what areas need the most attention and focus on them. First year teachers usually need to figure out homework policies, classroom management, curriculum, pacing, and those "must dos" from you school. By the end of your first year, these areas will be well under control and you can start looking at other things you want to perfect. I hope this helps :) ♦♦♦ Posted by anon: There is good advice offered here. I've taught with three "new" teachers in my 16 years . I've noticed how "new" teachers claim to have (or they get) the most behavioral problems and it's the old teachers, like ME in my case, that are blamed. Somehow it was me who set up the classrooms so one room was loaded with all the behavior problems and somehow it was the "new" teacher who got this "set up" classroom of behavior problems. 1) At the kindergarten level, I do not know the kids prior to their coming into the school system and, 2) the class lists are organized by the office staff (secretary and principal) and not by me, and they--the office staff--don't know the personalities of the children either, nor can they or I predict the chemistry of any combination of unknown children placed in one room. Also, I haven't had a class of my own in 16 years that I would consider free of children with some kind of behavior problems. With experience and knowledge, I have learned to deal with problems as they come. I don't drill about every little behavior frustration that I experience with the group of children that I work with in a day's time. It may appear that since I don't dwell on them and talk about them every waking moment that I "must" not have any behavior challenges, but we "experienced teachers" do have them. It would be best to NOT place blame on others for one's lack of experience and know-how in dealing with a variety of behavior problems. Ask for help if needed and don't point fingers of blame at others when you aren't successful. Even experienced teachers feel unsuccessful at times. ♦♦♦ Posted by the real anon xx: Make sure you have a teacher's guide or solutions manual and learn with the kids. If they know it's your first year (not day one, but down the road), it's a great time to model how your training prepares you to figure out a new situation. I've worked physics and chem problems on the board cold, gave the solutions manual to the kids and said find what's wrong, if there is anything. Seeing me make a common error taught them not to make the same error. I think vividly of a weak base problem and a units mistake I made--and the kids never again made those--they learned! And don't let it get to your confidence. When I made (still make) such errors), I smiled back the frustration and embarrassment, vented to my husband a bit and worked those dang problems out for next year! I see it differently now than I did at the moment, so think about the big picture of your career to come, not the pain of the moment! Good luck and enjoy it. ♦♦♦ Posted by Karoleigh: I think that during my first year, and that includes student teaching, too, I tried too hard to get the kids to like me. I was so afraid that they wouldn't like me. Now I know that it's not my role to be popular with the kids. My students told me at the end of this year that I was strict, but that I was also fair and "nice," so I guess this is really what we should all aim for. ♦♦♦ Posted by Jeff Hetzel: I am not sure what level you teach but this is what I have found at the high school level.
♦♦♦ Posted by Mike: Even if you aren't organized, the administration should think you are. Not much chance of becoming a good teacher if your contract is not renewed. Plus, doing required paperwork at the last minute is a recipe for disaster. Good luck! ♦♦♦ Posted by Mrs. B.: Check out www.loveandlogic.com. Our school has been having these workshops for years now. I thought it was basically for parents, but the workshop I attended was for teachers and was WONDERFUL. I learned a few basic techniques that helped take some of the load off my shoulders. ♦♦♦ Posted by Superteacher: I think this is an excellent thread. Everyone has given great advice. I want to add two things, however. Control of the classroom is something you can read about, listen to people go on about, but it's really a perceived thing. This was my major weakness in my first couple years teaching. I didn't BELIEVE that I had the power, and therefore, I didn't. Now I know I do, so when the kids see me, they feel it from me. I have enough perceived power that the other day when a study hall student who is one of the "worst" kids in the school tried to do something he shouldn't have, I looked at him and simply said, "You will not do that," and he immediately gave up and put his head down. Incredibly easy words to say...but you have to BELIEVE you have the power. I disagree with people who say don't go in the teachers' lounge. I wouldn't have been able to make it my first year in my current school if it weren't for those wonderful people in the 2nd floor lounge. Yes, they cynically complain, but if I didn't get the support they offered to me, I would not be where I am today (which I love). I just keep in mind that many of them tend to be cynical, but I believe that it's just because they care so much and are so frequently ignored by the administration. Frustration and being burned many times of course breeds cynicism! The faculty room is not the worst gossip den in my school. In my school there are some teachers who hide out in their rooms and in the halls spreading gossip behind everyone's backs. They are the ones to look out for. They used to come to the faculty room, but their words got them in trouble at one point, so now they are too embarrassed to come anymore. Instead, they now go around spreading gossip not knowing the true facts (because they seldom come out of their rooms). They are jealous of the camaraderie we have in the faculty room and lash out. I've seen it happen many times. So really, it's a matter of observing people and finding out who you can trust, not just a blanket statement that faculty room people are evil. I'm sure there are gossips inside AND outside the faculty room of every school. So, the best advice about the faculty room is yes, GO in. Sit and find out what the teachers think. They have experience and wisdom to share. Just keep your mouth quiet and don't gossip or tell anyone your problems. Instead, find one trustworthy person to confide in. **Take the good things from the faculty room, leave the rest at the door on your way out.** ♦♦♦ Posted by Laura: While I have joked with the other pre-k teacher about it being her fault because she organized the list, I know and she knows that is not the reason why I had problems this year, my first. That is because I talk to her about what is going on in my class and ask for advice. She was the first to tell me about the so-called "chemistry" in a classroom and that sometimes you get lucky and other times you get, well, not so lucky, with a group of kids. I had some difficult personalities this year, plus one that shows significant signs of ADHD but Mom would not have him tested, as well as one that had witnessed abuse at home and was acting out his anger at school. On top of that, my para was also brand-new, so we were really the blind leading the blind. So I have had serious problems with behavior management because of a lot of contributing factors--my inexperience among them. The veteran teachers on staff have repeatedly told me that they couldn't do any better with my two that display the severe behavioral issues and to just hang in there. I'm just praying that I get lucky next year. ♦♦♦ Posted by dot2: I totally agree that it is crucial to be where the other teachers are, make friends, be part of the team, find a mentor, and not be seen as stand offish. One other thing that is rarely known by beginning teachers is how much YOU set the tone or the mood of the class. When I am calm and happy they cooperate. If I get annoyed or irritated it is contagious. If the kids are acting up there are a lot of factors, but be sure to look at yourself. If Teacher ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. You have no idea the power your mood has. Browse through the latest posts on the Middle School Chatboard:
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