Teaching Tip #1: Find Yourself a Mentor

It’s been a “minute” since I have written on my blog. It’s funny how my goal last year was to write on my blog each day or at least once a week. Such a dreamer! So what brings me back? This week, I spoke with one of my friends, a couple of times, who is a brand new teacher to middle school. It reminded me that although the new school year is exciting, it also isn’t easy for new teachers. Sometimes, as veterans, we forget all of those unanswered questions that come up daily for new teachers. So my first piece of advice is to find your “person” that you can talk to without judgement. Don’t hesitate to ask those burning questions that will help you to sleep better at night. Everyone needs a mentor!

Teaching Tip #2: Design Your Discipline

I wrote about discipline on my blog awhile ago with some tips that might be helpful, so I won’t go into a lot of detail. You can find it here: https://judiholst.com/5-tips-on-designing-your-discipline/. I remember the days when kids would come in and sit down silently on the first day of school. It was eerie and freaked me out! If you teach secondary school, you know that this isn’t the case. But have heart. You see in the secondary grades, I picture some of my students like peacocks. They walk in, strut their feathers, watch to see who is paying attention, and then establish their dominance. It almost makes me giggle to watch them.

Here’s the thing, though. Watch for these kids. Get them on your side EARLY! Give them things to do for you. Put them in charge. Have them hand out things for you. If you pass something out that will require a trash can later, send that student around to collect the trash. We BOTH know that students aren’t going to get up and throw it away themselves. The peacocks will be the ones, later in the year, that have your back and the other kids will listen to them. Some people may see it as rewarding their behavior, I see it as creating an ally.

Teaching Tip #3: Think Positive Intent on Emails From Parents

It’s the first day, and you already get an email from a parent. Your heart starts beating quickly, and you already have thoughts of being fired. You can already picture the parent banging on your principal’s door with their complaint. You are absolutely positive it isn’t an email about how much the child loves your class. Heck, the child hasn’t even gone home yet.

Here is what I want you to do when you read that email. Read the email in the voice of Mary Poppins. Seriously, try it! Don’t read in it in our normal sarcastic “here is the email that talks about everything I’ve done wrong.” Instead, read it in a cheery voice. You see, most parents have positive intent when writing the email. They just have a question that they want answered. Although some people aren’t very good at expressing their thoughts in a positive way, and it hurts your soul, keep in mind that they just want what is best for their child. It usually doesn’t have anything to do with you personally.

Teaching Tip #4: Don’t Apologize

While we are on the subject of emails, here is a rule that I have learned along the way. Don’t apologize in your email response, unless you truly did something wrong. It took you hours, or even a day, to get back to the parent? Don’t apologize. Teachers are busy people. You had to speak to the child outside of the room because of behavior? Don’t apologize. I have watched a lot of videos on how to be a leader in business, and this was a tip that was mentioned frequently. Now if you messed up and you need to own it, that is a different story. You are part of a team when it comes to teaching. You, the parent, and the child make up that team. Respond in that manner…as a teammate.

Teaching Tip #5: Plan for Back-To-School Night

In our school, Back-to-School Night happens the second week of school. You feel just like you are getting your groove, and then you have to put in TWO 12-13 hour days. It comes up on you quickly. This was always my least favorite day and made me want to crawl out the window. The parents are lovely, it isn’t about that. It just put me out of my comfort zone.

So what do you do for this night? First of all, start taking some pictures of the students in your class now! If you are doing a slideshow for that night, parents always like to see real photos, especially if their child is in the photo. Now think about what you would want to know that night. At our school, the parents follow their child’s schedule and switch classes every 8-10 minutes. So, we have to give the same spiel 6 times, and fast!

Here is what I would want to know: What does a typical class period (or day – for elementary) look like for my child? If I was a fly on the wall, what would I see them doing? As I walk through a typical class period with the parents, this also gives me time to tell them the “why” of what I am doing each day. Why did I start with an attendance question? Why did I play a quick warm-up game to practice a skill? Why did I do a short mini lesson? Why won’t they have a content grade right away because of the pre-assessment? Why don’t I know which speeches the kids were giving each semester? (This was because the students voted on their projects each semester.). It’s a win-win situation for me and the parents. I’m not sure they cared that I went to San Diego State or played softball in high school. That can go on my website for the school. Keep it more “student-oriented” and less about you.

Teacher Hot Line:

When I think about how much a new teacher has to learn, I almost think I should create a teacher hotline. But teachers are broke, so I don’t see anyone paying me for my advice, and having that as a career. Ha. That being said, if you have things that you wonder about as a new teacher, feel free to send me your questions, and I will use them for future blog posts.

Final Extra Credit Tip:

Have faith in yourself! You’ve got this. Good luck this year. Your students are lucky to be in your class.