SURVIVED MY FIRST THIRTY DAYS OF

SCHOOL!Jennifer Vazquez

There are many things that go into being a first year teacher

You might feel overwhelmed with the tremendous amount of pressure of walking into your first day of class. The districts guidelines, lesson plans, the school’s administration. Not to mention the 15-20 kids that will all be under your care.

After a few months or a year of working in a new job, you will probably find yourself saying something like…

“If only I’d known that when I was new”.

Or had someone tell me

“This is what you should/shouldn’t do”

During the remaining of this presentation I will offer you some tips and do’s and don’ts to help you survive your first year as a new teacher.

Even though the easiest thing to do when a kid is misbehaving is to send them to the principles office, it is not a good idea.

This is a way for them to escape any responsibilities in the class room or to avoid class work.

It is better to try to fix the discipline problems.

It is important to find a mentor within the school. A mentor will help and guide you when times when things get tough and you become overwhelmed.

A big “don’t” is to try to not teach too much in one single day. It is likely that the students will get overwhelmed and will start to zone out and tune you out.

When you are teaching make sure you have an activity to go with the lesson.

Students get bored when they don’t have activities to do.

A lot of younger students learn better during hands on activities

When your students are doing what they are suppose to be doing make sure to reinforce them!

Implement a type of reward system such as tokens or prizes

You could do this for each individual student or as a class effort.

It is not good to punish “lazy” or “bad" kids, because there is no such thing. You might not be grabbing their attention in the right way. What is rewarding to one student might not be rewarding for an other. Find something that you’re students will enjoy as a class

One thing to make sure to do is to have class management.

You want to inform your students about the things that are expected of them to do when they first walk into the class roomAnd how to transition from their desks to recess or from the reading rug to their desk.

It is important to not allow students to shout out answers.

It will make the students think that they do not need to raise their hands to make a comment or to ask for something. Some students may just sit back and let others answer.

Your day/Lesson plan will not always go as planned

It is important to know this and to be able to wing it at times!

Children are unpredictable

It is very important to not ramble. If you talk too much there is a high possibility that the students will start to tone you out and not pay attention to the material. It is better to keep it short and simple.

Keep a journal.

Write down funny comments or nice gestures that you’re students said or did..

This will give you hope on tough days

Just as you are learning by trial and error, they are tooAllow them to make mistakes then help them figure out how to make it better.

Set an example for your students.

Treat them with the respect that you would like to be treated with,

Don’t just tell them but show them.

Allow them to select projects. They will work with more excitement. They will most likely learn more because they will be interested in the project that they pick more than the one that you pick for them.

Plan for different learning abilities

Not every kid is the same, you should have activities that will be fair to everyone in your classroom.

Whether you are provoked by a child, administrator or a parent it is important to always remain calm.

You are being looked up to by many, therefore professionalism is always important.