Posts tagged "Classroom management"

Classroom Management – A Rookie’s short hand guide to avoiding burnout

Classroom management is pivotal to your survival as a teacher. Seemingly straightforward to the onlooker, classroom management: run your classroom like a business. Except your “employees” don’t get paid, in fact, some of their parents don’t even pay taxes for them to go to school. In reality, you’re often telling a bunch of kids that they need to show up to school, everyday, listen to teachers, write papers, measure triangles, learn grammar, speak proper English, be quiet, don’t talk, talk, don’t talk, avoid fights, get made fun of, or be ignored. Sounds like a full time job to me, zero pay, minimal benefits. Yes, the experienced teacher might say, “well we must teach them the assured correlation between their education now and their future pay later. Again, a very hopeful statement. What if your kids don’t show up for you to even teach them? The job of classroom management is ridiculously difficult. It is complex, and evolving each minute. A classroom teacher must be forever vigilant and constantly aware of his or her surroundings. It truly is an art form. But it can be done, and done well, as I’ve seen it happen. Kids aren’t that hard to figure out, you just got to pay attention. Many teachers, including myself have, and will, screw it up royally. An aspiring career teacher, I have, in the last 18^th months of my formal training, began to notice some of the fundamentals, the back to basics of classroom management, that perhaps some of you veterans, or first years for that matter, may have forgotten.

Rule #1, always, no matter what, get to know your kids. Show them you care, don’t just tell them. Gradually, your incredibly smart (and often under rated) students will begin to understand and appreciate your depth. Once they know that you are on their side, they may just be inclined to tune in. Have you asked your students about their lives outside of school lately?

Rule # 2: Let your kids know you, while maintaining healthy boundaries. (Check back next week for a follow up article on boundaries in the classroom). Show them you’re human, because, well, you are. We all make mistakes. Shower them with your patience and love; adorn them with your humility. Be cautious with your sarcasm. But never forget, they need discipline. Which brings me to

Rule # 3: consistency, the good ole follow through, just like on the court. Your kids might depend on you as their most consistent part of the day. Perhaps one never knows whether or not mom will be home after school; or dad will feel like pushing them around after an evening of heavy booze. Every student comes with their baggage, and as a wise teacher, you must understand that you can’t and won’t be any student’s savior, but you will be a constant, even if for just a little while.

Rule #4: Take care of yourself, inside and outside of school. The better you treat yourself, the better you will treat your students. Teaching is a hard job, and often its employees don’t receive the credit they deserve. Therefore you must treat yourself with dignity, surround yourself with positive people, take compliments for all that you do. Exercise; make time for it, no wimpy excuses. Take bubble baths and read trashy magazines, or if you’re a dude, go fishing for crying out loud. Remember, the best way to have a good Monday is to have an amazing Sunday.

Rule #5 Stay organized! If you’re disorganized, how can you expect your students to stay organized? If your hairdresser has unkempt hair, do you really want them cutting yours? Have routines and rituals that you follow every single day. The creature of habit thrives on certainty. But in balance with the ritualism, (rule number 7) guarantee your kids they will learn something new and of value everyday, be it a fun fact, a vocabulary word, wise saying, or country on the map, something they don’t know about you: keep them coming back for more.

Finally, just a few things to go on, etch this into your teaching soul: many small victories are worth more than one big victory; let your no be no and your yes be yes; never doubt your expertise, except your mistakes as growing experiences, and root yourself into the driver’s seat, fasten your seat belt, it will be a bumpy ride.

Teaching Supplies for New Teachers

Need teaching supplies, but don’t know where to start?  Well, you are not alone.   Many new college grads are anticipating what teaching supplies they will need for their future teaching positions.  It can be an overwhelming feeling to think about setting up a new classroom; however, if you follow these simple steps, you can feel more confident about going into your new job prepared with the teaching supplies you may need.

1. Talk, talk, talk – Share your great news with everyone.   Teachers are everywhere!  Once friends and family know what profession you are entering, they can introduce you to teachers they may know.  These connections may help you land a job or set you up with some basic supplies.

2.  Do your research – There are some wonderful resources for new teachers that provide tips and ideas for starting a career in teaching.  From classroom management to parent communication, books and articles can help you feel more confident about stepping into your first classroom.

3.  Buy basic supplies – You may know exactly what grade you will be teaching, or you may not know anything about your position yet.  These are some basic materials that will be practical anywhere.  Index cards, sticky notes, highlighters, and small dry erase boards.  These are helpful tools in getting your thoughts organized and will no doubt be used in the months to come.

4.  Find a classroom decoration that represents you – Whether you are teaching high school chemistry or kindergarten, find something to post in your room that reflects your true personality.  Classroom decorations are fun!  If you love the ocean, find an ocean poster that you can display as soon as you set foot in your new room.  Kids as well as adults love to learn some personal facts about their instructors.

5.  Resist the urge to buy everything before the year begins -  Shopping for teaching supplies is fun!  But remember, you may be required to teach from a particular curriculum and the school may already have most of the teaching materials you need.  Using supplemental materials is often encouraged; however, you may not know exactly what you need for the unit until you teach it.  So, become familiar with teacher supply stores like http://www.k12schoolsupplies.net and use your sticky notes to jot down those supplies you want to buy throughout the year.