Ten Tips for New Teachers


Congratulations! You are finally a teacher! A dream come true. I remember those days very well. I almost didnΚΌt believe it was real until I walked into my first classroom and  saw those naked walls and that piled up furniture staring back at me. You will certainly get lots of advice from lots of people. Remember that in the end, this is your classroom. The classroom youΚΌve wanted for so long. Think carefully about all the advice you are about to be given, especially the ten tips from me that follow.

1. Stay informed, but donΚΌt obsess over current political actions, education reform, biased news reporting and especially publicly posted comments related to education.
There is great value in knowing what is happening in the world of education outside of your classroom, and I strongly recommend it. Do yourself a favor and find a reputable, unbiased source of educational news. Support education advocates that align with your views, but as a new educator, leave the actual advocating to them for a while. YouΚΌre going to have your hands full.

2. DonΚΌt feel pressured to do it all. 
As a new teacher, you might find it a bit difficult to maintain a class website, teacher blog, head up a committee, create interactive whiteboard lessons for every subject and tutor students for free after hours while youΚΌre finding your way in our profession. In time, you may find yourself drawn to one or more
of these very valuable, rewarding endeavors, but give yourself a while to find out who you are as a teacher and then build on the strengths that naturally emerge.

3. Save your money for really important things. You will be tempted to buy treats and gifts for your students. You will want pillows and chairs and rugs for your reading area. You will want each student to have the best book box and you will want your class library to be overflowing with books in every genre. You will want educational software, homey room decorations and almost everything you see in teacher catalogs. You will want things you see in other teachersΚΌ classrooms. But remember, those things were accumulated over time. Some were probably donated, scavenged at garage sales, clearance aisles and friends who were moving. And they werenΚΌt all begotten at once. Our profession does require some out of pocket spending though. Every teacher will tell you that. So, spend wisely. Think of whatΚΌs really important. Work on building up that classroom library before you worry about having the perfect beach chairs to go with your “Oceans of Learning” theme. (That can be a hard one, I know.)

4. Respect professional boundaries between you and your administration, you and your studentsΚΌ parents, you and your students, you and Facebook...well, you get the idea. You are a professional and to be treated as one, you must act like one. Your reputation is forming in this first year. Let those around you see your excitement, your enthusiasm, your dedication, your kindness but when you need to vent, be sure that you confide in that one person that you trust implicitly. DonΚΌt talk about the student who said something inappropriate (even without giving a name), or how desperate you are for winter break to start. You are under scrutiny as a teacher, and that includes Facebook and Twitter.

5. Be consistent in everything you do. Enforce your behavior management system consistently. Establish routines and follow them consistently. If you start sending homework folders to parents every Monday, then follow through and do it EVERY Monday. As soon as the students start to feel that slack in routine, they will pick up on it faster than any academic concept you will try to teach them. Sometimes this may mean continuing something that you know you donΚΌt want to do again next year, but for this year - follow through. Unless the practice is causing some kind of harm, do your best to keep up with what you start. There will be times that you must change something. For example, you find that your center schedule set up is not working at all. Then by all means, change it. DonΚΌt feel the need to over explain why there is a change to your students, but inform them of the change and then move forward. ItΚΌs usually best for everyone when routine and structure are maintained as much as possible, but certainly make notes about what you want to change next year and act on it.

6. Style over Substance can be a trap you fall into without even realizing it! You have probably been dreaming about how you want your room to look, what you will put on each bulletin board, how to arrange the desks. Maybe youΚΌve even picked up some things that will be perfect decorations. YouΚΌve stocked up on things from the Dollar Store that were in other teachersΚΌ “must have” blog posts. Now what? Always remember the heart of your mission: teaching content. You need to know your stuff, literally. Your students will learn reading strategies better from a confident, prepared teacher in a
sparsely decorated room than they will from an ill prepared teacher in a room that could be straight out of “Classroom Beautiful” magazine. Now, the ultimate goal is to combine both of those elements, and in time you most likely will, but for now make sure you spend as much time preparing content as you do preparing your physical space.

7. Organize everything. You donΚΌt necessarily need a separate system for everything you do, but come up with a way to keep things from piling up. The absolute BEST thing I ever did was to number my students. As long as they put their number in the corner of their paper, you can alphabetize them in a snap. You can see in an instant whose work is missing. You can randomly call students by numbers to complete tasks or be helpers. They can line up in number order to avoid rushing the door. The best part is that you can number things in the classroom (bulletin boards, supplies) with numbers and then they are reusable next year!

8. Respect your elders. Ok, IΚΌm being a bit sarcastic here, but honestly the veteran teachers at your school have a lot to offer. If a veteran teacher has advice about the token economy system you are going to use, listen to them. They were once a new teacher just like you and they are trying to save you the headaches that theyΚΌve endured. Of course, consider their advice and then make your own decisions. You have a lot of pressure on you as a new teacher and seeking out the advice of a seasoned teacher can be such a benefit to you. Before you know it, youΚΌll be the veteran teacher people are coming to for advice!

9. Forgive yourself. You will make mistakes. You will say something you instantly wish you could rewind and take back. You will have at least one observation that you know didnΚΌt show you at your best. Guess what? You will survive it all. No one little thing you do in your first year will define you for the rest of your career. You are not expected to be perfect. You will make mistakes and you will learn from them. You will have a bad day, but they will be far outnumbered by great days. When youΚΌre feeling like you let yourself down, forgive yourself and move on.

10. Find a balance between work and school. As a new teacher, my classroom door opened to the outside, but I had no windows. Sometimes I would be working and working and when I finally left for the day IΚΌd be shocked to open the door and find it was already nighttime! It got to the point that my friends would show up at my door with dinner because when they couldnΚΌt reach me they knew where I was. I actually enjoyed that time in my career. I liked being in my room, making things, checking papers, changing bulletin boards. But even though I enjoyed myself, I found myself struggling toward the end of the year and began to force myself to leave at a reasonable hour. Finding joy and relaxation in my personal life actually made me a better teacher in the classroom.

Best of luck to you as you enter the most wonderful, rewarding and challenging profession that IΚΌm proud to call my own ~ teaching.





20 comments

  1. Denise,
    This is great advice for novice and veteran alike. When we are all busy this time of year getting ready to go back, or having already started, remembering that you need life outside of school is really important!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Michele

    Coffee Cups and Lesson Plans

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  2. This is wonderful advice!! As a 7 year veteran I needed some of these reminders myself!!

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  3. Great advice not only for new teachers but reminders for those seasoned ones as well.
    Shawna
    The Picture Book Teacher's Edition

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  4. Great advice to even a 20 year veteran! Thanks for sharing

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  5. These are GREAT tips! I enjoyed reading them!

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  6. I love this post! I will be teaching for the first time this year (3rd grade!), and I soooo appreciate the advice. I found that #6 really rang true with me. I've been so caught up in creating pretty things for my classroom, and I know it's time for me to crack down and really start preparing more lessons. It's so easy to get caught up in the cute!

    Thanks!

    Cara
    Magic & Markers

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  7. Such great ideas! I am not near a veteran and I'm not new - so the ideas/tips are still beneficial to me. Love this list. Thanks!

    Keri
    Enchanted Kinder Garden

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  8. Great advice! I think if pinterest and blogs were around when I started, I would have definitely felt the pressure and focused on the less important (but fun!) parts of teaching.

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  9. This is a great post, very respectfully and realistically written to new teachers. I've been teaching the same grade for 17 years and still remind myself of these things! I wish someone had handed me this post when I started. Very nicely done!

    Lindsey at Forever First Grade

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  10. Thank you so much for this post! It was very helpful : )

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  11. Oh wow, 29th year this Sept. and I loved reading this......thoughtful and spot on ! Thanks Denise :)

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  12. Thank you!! I am a new teacher this year (4th grade) and I really appreciated this post!!

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  13. Lots of good revisiting here--makes me rethink some things... Thanks for taking the time to gather thoughts and post this.

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  14. This is all great advice that I really needed to hear. Thank you for the reminders!
    Forever A Teacher, Forever A Learner

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  16. Thank you so much! I am a recent graduate about to begin teaching second grade, and this list has really helped put my priorities in order. Thankfully, though I have bought a few essentials, I have not gone crazy. It is still nice to see that warning, though, because I have seriously wanted to go crazy at Dollar Tree! This is a list that I plan to share with my friends, so I appreciate it greatly!

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