When First-Year Teacher’s Survival Kit was published five years ago, the professional life of a first-year teacher was very different from the experiences of today’s beginning teacher. The national teacher shortage was just beginning, the Internet was not the educational resource it is now, and professional development meant reading an occasional book about teaching.
How things have changed!
This second edition reflects the changes in the last five years by including information that today’s beginning teachers need, including expanded and new information about these topics:
• How to collaborate with colleagues in discussion groups
• How to access information and resources about NCLB
• How to share a classroom or teach in a mobile unit
• How to find teacher “freebies"
• How to create classroom storage on a budget
• How to find information about creating a class Web page
• How to use technology to design and deliver appealing lessons
• How to use innovative strategies such as WebQuests, essential questions, and I-messages
• How to help students prepare for standardized tests
• How to help struggling readers overcome the literacy gap
• How to reach students through educational games, toys, and learning centers
• How to use peer pressure to help students be self-disciplined
• How to fulfill your legal responsibilities and protect yourself from a lawsuit
• How to reach out to at-risk students
• How to help students who do not speak English as a first language
• How to solve many of the behavior problems all teachers face
• How to manage paperwork and other time robbers so that you can focus on teaching
• How to translate your state’s standards into interesting lessons that will engage your students
From Section 4…
Worksheet 4.3: Survey Your Classroom
"Now that your room is finally arranged just the way you want it to be when your students arrive, take a few moments to look around. Use this checklist to make sure you have created the best learning environment possible for your students:
□ The teacher’s name and the room number are prominently displayed in the hall.
□ The overall appearance of the room is orderly and attractive.
□ Every student has a desk.
□ Students with physical disabilities have necessary furniture and equipment.
□ Additional equipment such as an overhead projector are in place.
□ The teacher’s desk and desk chair are comfortable.
□ The teacher’s desktop reflects his/her personality but is still businesslike.
□ There are two trash cans—one for students and one by the teacher’s desk.
□ All computers are ready to use.
□ Textbooks and other materials are arranged for easy use.
□ The bulletin boards are attractive and interesting.
□ The room is a safe place for students: all cords secure, nothing harmful within reach, fire drill exits marked, no broken glass or other equipment."
From Section 15...
Dealing with a Difficult Class
"Teaching a difficult class can a debilitating experience. This kind of class can turn your enthusiasm into a desire to just make it through one more day. Fortunately, there are many strategies you can use to turn a classroom full of smart-alecky, unmanageable, or all-around indifferent students into an enjoyable class.
What causes a class to be difficult? The reasons are many and varied:
• Peer conflicts keep students from paying attention to their work.
• Students may lack goals.
• There may be an unequal distribution in the ability levels of students, causing frustration.
• A negative label becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• There may be an unpleasant chemistry between teacher and students.
• There may be an unpleasant chemistry among students.
• The classroom may be too small to fit all students.
Perhaps the most serious reason classes can be difficult lies in the way that students regard themselves and their ability to succeed academically. Students who do not believe they can succeed have no reason to try. Successful teachers with difficult classes turn the negative energy in the class into a positive force through persistently communicating their faith in their students’ ability to achieve. While there are many approaches you can take, the different strategies here can help you turn a difficult class into a successful one:
• Smile at your class. If you were videotaped while teaching them, would your body language reveal positive or negative feelings about your students?
• Keep the expectations for your class high. Children live up to the expectations of the adults in their lives, so let them know you expect a lot of them.
• From the first class meeting onward, establish that you control the class. Demonstrate that you will regulate the behavior in your classroom for the good of all students.
• Call parents or guardians as soon as you can when a problem arises.
• Work on the noise level every day until your students learn to govern themselves. Teach students which volumes are acceptable and which are not.
Establish signals to help students learn to control the noise.
• Plan activities around your students’ short attention spans. Make sure these activities offer plenty of time for practice and review.
• Never allow time for students to sit doing nothing but disturbing others. Keep them busy all class period.
• Stay on your feet and monitor. Students who know you are watching over them will hesitate before misbehaving.
• Tell them that you expect your students to do their work well and that you will help them learn to do it.
• Use non-print media to catch attention. Art and music are just two of the ways you can manage difficult students more easily.
• Make sure the work you assign is appropriate for your students’ ability level.
• Offer incentives other than grades. Students who have never made a good grade may not be motivated by grades. Offer small, frequent, tangible rewards such as stickers, computer time, or bookmarks instead.
• Praise good behavior as often as you can. Difficult students do not always know when they behave well. If you praise the class for good behavior, you encourage them all to repeat the behavior.
• Take time to teach and reteach the rules and procedures you want your students to follow.
• Be as specific as you can when telling difficult students what you want them to do.
• Give them opportunities to help each other. Students who share their knowledge with a classmate will be so busy being productive that they will not have time to disrupt class.
• Acknowledge the rights of individuals in your class. Showing students you are fair will ease many sensitive situations."
From Section 6...
Great Advice: “Don’t Take It Personally”
"One of the hardest attitude shifts for many new teachers to make is to refuse to take student misbehavior and lack of motivation personally. After a miserable day, negative student attitudes and behavior can sometimes cause even veteran teachers to wonder why they bothered to go to school.
If you were to discuss such a day with an experienced teacher, the chances are good that you would hear, 'Don’t take it personally.' While this is excellent advice, it is one of the hardest things for new teachers to learn to do. However, if you are to thrive in your new profession, it is an attitude that you must adopt. Try these strategies the next time you are tempted to take it personally when your students do not live up to your expectations:
• Remember that students will not always behave well or say the right thing. After all, they are children.
• Part of being a teacher is setting limits and establishing boundaries for your students. While this is necessary, it isn’t always easy for you or your students.
• Teaching is a very complicated task. In the course of a school week, you will have to make dozens of decisions. Not all of them will be popular with your students.
• As the adult in the classroom, you have to consider the needs of all students. Often, when a student disagrees with a teacher, it is because that child is only considering what he or she wants instead of what would be good for the group.
• Keep in mind that your students do not really know you. They see only one side of you—the teacher part. They react to that part, not you as a person."
