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Beginning Teachers Chatboard

Advice needed for newby

by kate100

Jan 26, 2015

I'm in an alternative teaching program this year and will have my own classroom in foreign language in August. I am hear to get some advice for new teachers, any topic, is greatly appreciated, thanks.

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Hi Vet Teacher, Thank you for taking the time to respond, I really appreciated hearing what you had to say. I plan to use every bit of advice you gave me, and I needed to hear the things you said, thank you again! On 1/27/15, Vet Teacher wrote: > On 1/26/15, kate100 wrote: >> I'm in an alternative teaching program this year and will >&g...See MoreHi Vet Teacher, Thank you for taking the time to respond, I really appreciated hearing what you had to say. I plan to use every bit of advice you gave me, and I needed to hear the things you said, thank you again! On 1/27/15, Vet Teacher wrote: > On 1/26/15, kate100 wrote: >> I'm in an alternative teaching program this year and will >> have my own classroom in foreign language in August. I am >> hear to get some advice for new teachers, any topic, is >> greatly appreciated, thanks. > > Expect your first year with your own classroom to be a fair > bit of work - it takes time to get organized and settle in. > But every year after that is better - your build up a bank of > lesson plans on paper and in your head. > > Past that every school is different and your students, your > colleagues and the policies and practices of the school can > make your experience different from everyone else's. My > general advice to any new teacher is - pick your battles > carefully, only fight the big battles and avoid battles > altogether if you possibly can because no one really wins. > Not you, not them. > > What kind of a classroom environment do you want? Some > schools give you little choice on that. Without knowing what > kind of community your school is in, I'd usually say - give > the benefit of the doubt, don't look for the worst. > > Leave your ego at home. It's ok to make mistakes and it's a > good thing to admit to them. The teacher is not always right > and pretending that's so doesn't make it so. > > There's such great foreign language material online these > days - youtube is rich with good material and things you can > use for teaching tools. On the whole I find it much easier to > plan these days than in the past and it's much easier to plan > engaging classroom activities. > > Some people have an affinity for foreign language and some > don't. We're all wired differently. The kids who don't can > really struggle. I took a sign language class once and for > the first time in my life I felt what it was like to feel > really dumb. I can spell well but I cannot tell what's being > spelled by sign language. Every other student in the room > could but unless I could write down the letters as they were > spelled out, I couldn't tell what they were saying. I found > I'm not wired to hold those visual images in my head. > > It gave me a new understanding of my struggling students - I > was trying as hard I could but still at the bottom of the > class. > > Build bridges, not walls. People respond to people. Some > teachers try to hide their selves and just present a 'teacher > front' to students. People respond to people. Don't be afraid > to appear human. A sense of humor goes a long way and > flexibility goes just as far. > > Good luck.

Jan 30, 2015

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Old Teacher On 1/26/15, kate100 wrote: > I'm in an alternative teaching program this year and will > have my own classroom in foreign language in August. I am > hear to get some advice for new teachers, any topic, is > greatly appreciated, thanks.

Since your class is an elective, most of the students should want to be in the class. (Do I a...See More

Mar 2, 2015

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70 Ways to Keep Students Engaged

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Feb 22, 2015

Pedagogy of Engagement - Compiled by Debbie Ann from Teachers.Net chatboard posts is a popular list. Take a look, and be sure to share the link.

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She typed "My students are" into Google and was shocked

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Feb 15, 2015

The author of this article typed "My students are" into Google. Read what happened and the author's remedy.

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Writing/discussion prompts, newsletter tidbits for this week

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Feb 8, 2015

Click below for this week's writing/discussion prompts (great also for newsletters and to make morning announcements more interesting and informative).

Here's a sample of the prompts Jim Wayne put together for you for the coming week:

February 11: Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He patented more inventions than any other single pe...See More

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Balancing Act – A Lesson for Helicopter Parents and Teachers

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Feb 1, 2015

There’s a lesson in this balancing act—for the parents of our students and for us, the teachers at the front of the room...

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How the Teacher Stole Christmas-5 Lessons from the Grinch

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Dec 10, 2014

Jennifer Davis Bowman writes:

We're all familiar with the story of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and thus, it is the perfect opportunity to uncover the “teachable moments” within the text.

Quotes from the infamous story along with 5 lessons that may inspire us as educators...

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