Hey all,
I know I already said this today-- but happy Friday!
Today was the first official day of my districts work calendar. We all went to convocation (which is where we all get super hyped about teaching all our students this year) then went back to our campus to get to know our new teachers and how our campus will run this year.
That being said, I want to give a shout out to all you new teachers! Welcome to your career!
I have to tell you, I originally wanted to teach because I had been waiting tables since I was 16 (I started teaching at 24) and I just thought "I NEED STEADY MONEYYY AND STEADY HOURS"!
With a video production major (and not willing to relocate because I'm a total momma's girl), I decided to turn to teaching. My brother is a teacher as is my sister in law and I have always enjoyed children. So, off to alternative certification I went.
Anyway.. blah, blah, blah. I substituted and then BAM I landed my first gig. The point of the story is..
I found a passion I did not know existed. So, even if you are coming into this field because you didn't know what you were doing with your life and it "seemed like a good idea"- go with it!
I want to take a minute to talk to all of you new teachers (and the not new but basically new teachers, like me) about classroom management.
This being my third year, I have learned from my past 2. I have read books, I have attended professional development, I have sat in on other teachers. Here are things I have decided I am definitely doing.
1) Practicing my expectations! I can't express this enough. I went through the way things were going to work in my class and then we just kept going. As a result, I did a lot of correcting. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal and never revisited the expectations. By spring break, I felt like the kids were too far gone and by the time I actually DID choose to go over expectations it was like they had never heard them before.
2) Holding them accountable to those expectations! My fellow teachers, you know what I mean. Those expectations like "stay seated while I am teaching" and one student gets up to go get something out of their backpack- but they were quiet so- you just let it slide. Don't do it! All of a sudden, everyone is finding a reason to get up. Don't let it slide! I'm not saying stop what you're doing and embarrass the kid and interrupt your teaching. I am just saying to walk by that kids desk and let them know, "what you did was not the expectation and remember this is what I expect of you."
3) Have a procedure/expectation for everything. And I do mean everything. When can they sharpen their pencils? When can they go to the bathroom? When can they go to the library? How long are they allowed to stay in the library? Where do they turn in their papers? When can they talk with their peers? They need to know it ALL. I didn't have those in place and my kids would do something and then just look at me like, "Oh I didn't know this wasn't okay." Common sense is not possessed by most junior high children!
4) Be consistent. Guys.. I struggle in this category. I teach with my emotions. Don't do it. Be positive, everyday. They need it. I am going to do my best to lead by example on this one this year.
5) Know my consequences. Let's be real.. no classroom is perfect. As much as you want to believe that if you set expectations for kids and you're awesome and you give them positive talk all the time that they won't be disobedient, you're wrong. They're going to mess up. And when they mess up you need to know how you're going to handle it. One of my biggest problems was I did not have consequences. I don't mean, "send them to the principal." No, don't do that. If they aren't hurting someone or themselves physically or mentally they need to stay with you. Figure out how your consequences will go and stick to them.
6) Speaking of consequences, call their parents! Other things I sucked at... calling parents. I sucked at it. Parents are scary! I didn't want them to blame me for their kids misbehavior (because the media has basically made me think that's what it is like to talk to a parent). Wrong. Most parents want to know right away when their kid is messing up. I called some parents FINALLY in the LAST 9 weeks of school and the students had been a problem all year. The first thing mom asked? "Why didn't you call sooner?" Yikes. Call them. It's true, some parents won't care. This is still insightful for you. Those parents who don't care probably also don't express much care toward their child. Love them extra.
7) Give them things but don't get crazy. Last year I made the mistake of buying the "good" candy to give to my kids. It gets expensive. Don't do it. They will do just as much work for a jolly rancher, a Hershey's kiss. Hell, even a mint. Plus they start to become unappreciative when you've been giving them awesome candy and then all of a sudden it's a jolly rancher. Don't set yourself up for failure.
8) But do give them something. Reinforcing those expectations will be easier if you can give them SOME sort of treat for following them. (I am speaking from a middle school stand point). Should we have to reward our students for being well behaved? No. Will it help your sanity if every kid is attentive and following expectations because they think they're going to receive a "ticket" for a drawing or a piece of bubble gum? Yes! Find what they like and do it! Some teachers use classroom currency, some just give small candies, some do drawings. Find something.
Encourage the good behavior. We do this because it diminishes the bad behavior.
I could go on and on about classroom management but I am just going to leave it at these 8 things along with this Edutopia Article on classroom management plans. (Yes, it's from 2013.)
I did make some "classroom coupons" that you can use in your classroom. They are (mostly) free things that you can reward your students with. They were written with the intermediate students in mine (5th-6th range). However, I'd imagine coupons could work with most classrooms and you can edit them! You can find them here at my Teachers Pay Teachers store for free!
I know I already said this today-- but happy Friday!
Today was the first official day of my districts work calendar. We all went to convocation (which is where we all get super hyped about teaching all our students this year) then went back to our campus to get to know our new teachers and how our campus will run this year.
That being said, I want to give a shout out to all you new teachers! Welcome to your career!
I have to tell you, I originally wanted to teach because I had been waiting tables since I was 16 (I started teaching at 24) and I just thought "I NEED STEADY MONEYYY AND STEADY HOURS"!
With a video production major (and not willing to relocate because I'm a total momma's girl), I decided to turn to teaching. My brother is a teacher as is my sister in law and I have always enjoyed children. So, off to alternative certification I went.
Anyway.. blah, blah, blah. I substituted and then BAM I landed my first gig. The point of the story is..
I found a passion I did not know existed. So, even if you are coming into this field because you didn't know what you were doing with your life and it "seemed like a good idea"- go with it!
I want to take a minute to talk to all of you new teachers (and the not new but basically new teachers, like me) about classroom management.
This being my third year, I have learned from my past 2. I have read books, I have attended professional development, I have sat in on other teachers. Here are things I have decided I am definitely doing.
1) Practicing my expectations! I can't express this enough. I went through the way things were going to work in my class and then we just kept going. As a result, I did a lot of correcting. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal and never revisited the expectations. By spring break, I felt like the kids were too far gone and by the time I actually DID choose to go over expectations it was like they had never heard them before.
2) Holding them accountable to those expectations! My fellow teachers, you know what I mean. Those expectations like "stay seated while I am teaching" and one student gets up to go get something out of their backpack- but they were quiet so- you just let it slide. Don't do it! All of a sudden, everyone is finding a reason to get up. Don't let it slide! I'm not saying stop what you're doing and embarrass the kid and interrupt your teaching. I am just saying to walk by that kids desk and let them know, "what you did was not the expectation and remember this is what I expect of you."
3) Have a procedure/expectation for everything. And I do mean everything. When can they sharpen their pencils? When can they go to the bathroom? When can they go to the library? How long are they allowed to stay in the library? Where do they turn in their papers? When can they talk with their peers? They need to know it ALL. I didn't have those in place and my kids would do something and then just look at me like, "Oh I didn't know this wasn't okay." Common sense is not possessed by most junior high children!
4) Be consistent. Guys.. I struggle in this category. I teach with my emotions. Don't do it. Be positive, everyday. They need it. I am going to do my best to lead by example on this one this year.
5) Know my consequences. Let's be real.. no classroom is perfect. As much as you want to believe that if you set expectations for kids and you're awesome and you give them positive talk all the time that they won't be disobedient, you're wrong. They're going to mess up. And when they mess up you need to know how you're going to handle it. One of my biggest problems was I did not have consequences. I don't mean, "send them to the principal." No, don't do that. If they aren't hurting someone or themselves physically or mentally they need to stay with you. Figure out how your consequences will go and stick to them.
6) Speaking of consequences, call their parents! Other things I sucked at... calling parents. I sucked at it. Parents are scary! I didn't want them to blame me for their kids misbehavior (because the media has basically made me think that's what it is like to talk to a parent). Wrong. Most parents want to know right away when their kid is messing up. I called some parents FINALLY in the LAST 9 weeks of school and the students had been a problem all year. The first thing mom asked? "Why didn't you call sooner?" Yikes. Call them. It's true, some parents won't care. This is still insightful for you. Those parents who don't care probably also don't express much care toward their child. Love them extra.
7) Give them things but don't get crazy. Last year I made the mistake of buying the "good" candy to give to my kids. It gets expensive. Don't do it. They will do just as much work for a jolly rancher, a Hershey's kiss. Hell, even a mint. Plus they start to become unappreciative when you've been giving them awesome candy and then all of a sudden it's a jolly rancher. Don't set yourself up for failure.
8) But do give them something. Reinforcing those expectations will be easier if you can give them SOME sort of treat for following them. (I am speaking from a middle school stand point). Should we have to reward our students for being well behaved? No. Will it help your sanity if every kid is attentive and following expectations because they think they're going to receive a "ticket" for a drawing or a piece of bubble gum? Yes! Find what they like and do it! Some teachers use classroom currency, some just give small candies, some do drawings. Find something.
Encourage the good behavior. We do this because it diminishes the bad behavior.
I could go on and on about classroom management but I am just going to leave it at these 8 things along with this Edutopia Article on classroom management plans. (Yes, it's from 2013.)
I did make some "classroom coupons" that you can use in your classroom. They are (mostly) free things that you can reward your students with. They were written with the intermediate students in mine (5th-6th range). However, I'd imagine coupons could work with most classrooms and you can edit them! You can find them here at my Teachers Pay Teachers store for free!
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