First Year of School
Survival Guide
BEGIN NOW
- Start now to prepare for the predictable events of your first school year.
- Using small steps, overcome your fears.
Keep a Teaching Journal
- A teaching journal can be any notebook that is large enough to hold your teaching thoughts and suggestions.
- Useful to record any ideas and helpful strategies you discover.
- A chief characteristic of the reflective practitioner
Find a Mentor
- Mentors can provide a first year teacher with more knowledge than a textbook.
- They can tell you about the school, coworkers, and regulations at your workplace.
- A mentor will serve as a guide, and confidant throughout that first year.
Allying with Students' Parents
- Take a positive, proactive approach toward parents.
Steps to form an alliance
- Prepare a short statement to be taken home, signed, and returned, introducing yourself to parents and outlining your goals for the year.
- Once you have established disciplinary and homework policies, send a copy of those policies home for parental sign-off and return.
- On the first day, get the home, work, and cell numbers of each students parents or guardians.
- It is a good idea to call home early in the fall. If the student appears to be falling behind, turning out, or misbehaving, you can quickly correct the issue.
Take Evaluation Seriously
- Understand thoroughly how your work will be evaluated.
- It is important for teachers to take the feedback seriously and utilize it for the future.
Take Care of Yourself
- One of the greatest surprises of full-time teaching is how tiring it is.
- New teachers need to give special attention to their health.
- Reduce stress by trying to solve key problems that are bothering you.
- Take vitamins, plan a weekend away, or exercise.