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Hello fellow beginning teachers,

I wanted to let you know that starting tomorrow (Wednesday the 21st)...my eBook (Surviving and Thriving:21 Tips for First Year Teachers) will be available for FREE on Amazon! Here's where you can get it: [link removed]

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

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Career changers and first year teacher

by Doug

Nov 21, 2012

I would really like to connect with first year teachers that are not licensed and are not going through a licensure program, have a young family, and are changing careers to be a secondary teacher. I currently teach mathematics as a highly qualified teacher at a public charter school and I am having a hard time balancing teaching and family. On top...See More

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Literacy Advocate Ed, it's a shame that you didn't read the OP before posing your questions to him.

On 11/21/12, Ed wrote: > On 11/21/12, Doug wrote: >> I would really like to connect with first year teachers that >> are not licensed and are not going through a licensure >> program, have a young family, and are changing careers to be ...See MoreEd, it's a shame that you didn't read the OP before posing your questions to him.

On 11/21/12, Ed wrote: > On 11/21/12, Doug wrote: >> I would really like to connect with first year teachers that >> are not licensed and are not going through a licensure >> program, have a young family, and are changing careers to be >> a secondary teacher. I currently teach mathematics as a >> highly qualified teacher at a public charter school and I am >> having a hard time balancing teaching and family. On top of >> that there are many questions (do I have students retake a >> test if they failed the first time, pros and cons of doing >> this or doing that, what if have class gets it and others >> are not, how to motivate students who are not turning in >> homework, how to grade, how to handle a girl who cries from >> drama, cuts herself, etc.). I am really tired of bugging >> all my colleagues for help and don't want to seem like a >> bleeding heart but how is a teacher supposed to know what to >> do when their is no guidebook, no expectations set as far as >> curriculum. I just need moral support as I am very tired >> all the time. The school is 35mi away and I work long hours >> to avoid traffic. A lot of time is spent prepping as I >>> Everybody tells me things will get better and I agree if my >> supervisor lets me teach the same preps next year. > Doug-- > > First of all, I must tell you that I am a newly certified, > career-changer teacher looking for my first classroom > assignment. I was a commercial photographer in my former > career, and am now a highly qualified English teacher, grades > 4-12. I earned a master's in 2009, and have been subing since > becoming certified in August of 2011. > > Can you clarify a few things from this post so we know more > about your situation? > > First, are you a new teacher? You write that you "haven't > used (or taught) some of this math in 25 years," which implies > that you have, perhaps, been teaching for this long. Yet your > questions about how to handle the every day exigencies in the > classroom seem to indicate that you are new to teaching. Are > you simply having a tough time managing the students? I can > certainly understand this. Please enlighten us. > >

Jan 6, 2013

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Confused about your credential status If you don't have a license, and you're not going through a licensure program, how is it that you're teaching school in the first place? I'm only asking because if you were taking courses to get your math credential, you'd have a whole cadre of professors whose jobs would involve teaching you to teach secondary-level math. Not only would a lot of y...See MoreIf you don't have a license, and you're not going through a licensure program, how is it that you're teaching school in the first place? I'm only asking because if you were taking courses to get your math credential, you'd have a whole cadre of professors whose jobs would involve teaching you to teach secondary-level math. Not only would a lot of your questions be answered in those classes, but you could go to your professors with any problems (as opposed to "bugging" your colleagues).

That said, I know myself well enough to know that I could not be a school teacher if I had kids of my own at home. That's just me, but I use up all my Youngster Energy between 8 AM and 4 PM, and when that last bell rings, I'm ready to go home to a quiet house with no noisy kids.

It seems as though your class textbooks would give you some basic curricular structure. Go online, too, and look up your state's secondary math standards. (At this point, you're probably still following the state standards, although check to see whether and when your state might be switching over to the Common Core math standards.) The standards will give you a list of what every eighth grader or eleventh grader, for instance, is supposed to be learning in your math class. The standards ARE your official curricular expectations, so print them out, refer to them like the Bible, and plan the rest of your school year accordingly.

Be sure your students have a clear understanding of WHAT they're learning and why. If you're teaching algebra or geometry, explain to them what the word "algebra" or "geometry" MEANS. (It's amazing how many math teachers overlook this basic step.)

Also, remember to point out the obvious, because kids don't always pick up on the obvious. There are probably little blue or purple boxes throughout their math textbooks that highlight important properties and theorems (the associative property of addition, for instance, or the area of a triangle). Point out to them that when they see one of those boxes, they need to MEMORIZE the rule or definition inside it. A lot of kids just don't think to do that without being explicitly told to. Many kids really have no idea how to study, so again, point out the obvious, and point it out again.

Every day, your whiteboard should clearly display the TITLE of the chapter you'll be covering. Say the title out loud to them at the beginning of your day's lesson. That will help them know exactly what they're supposed to be focusing on that day (as opposed to "some kind of math stuff." Teenagers don't do well with vague.)

And be sure to give them examples of real-life situations where arithmetic, algebra, geometry, or whatever are useful. "Why do I need to learn this?" and "How's it going to help me in life?" are valid questions, so start compiling a list of good answers that span a variety of careers and real-world activities.

On 11/21/12, Doug wrote: > I would really like to connect with first year teachers that > are not licensed and are not going through a licensure > program, have a young family, and are changing careers to be > a secondary teacher. I currently teach mathematics as a > highly qualified teacher at a public charter school and I am > having a hard time balancing teaching and family. On top of > that there are many questions (do I have students retake a > test if they failed the first time, pros and cons of doing > this or doing that, what if have class gets it and others > are not, how to motivate students who are not turning in > homework, how to grade, how to handle a girl who cries from > drama, cuts herself, etc.). I am really tired of bugging > all my colleagues for help and don't want to seem like a > bleeding heart but how is a teacher supposed to know what to > do when their is no guidebook, no expectations set as far as > curriculum. I just need moral support as I am very tired > all the time. The school is 35mi away and I work long hours > to avoid traffic. A lot of time is spent prepping as I > haven't used (or taught) some of this math in 25 years. > Everybody tells me things will get better and I agree if my > supervisor lets me teach the same preps next year.

Feb 5, 2013

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Literacy Unit Planning

by Paul

Nov 22, 2012

I am a Supply Teacher being interviewed on Saturday for a position and would like to know how you approach teaching a literacy unit, keeping in mind students needs, planning, the curriculum, and teaching strategies. How would I evaluate and assess? I would appreciate if you could give me an idea as to how I could go about planning a literacy/langua...See More

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Betty Ann I don't have details to share with you because I don't teach literacy--but I would definitely recommend that you use Common Core standards in the planning.So be sure that you are very familiar with CC and use the appropriate terminology in your interview. Best wishes in your job search.

On 11/22/12, Paul wrote: > I am a Supply Teacher b...See More

Nov 22, 2012

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Teaching in a Fishbowl

by J.

Nov 26, 2012

Hi all -

I discovered this board trying to find resources to help my husband, who is a first-year middle-school math teacher in a small rural school.

His problem is not the kids; he gets along with them well. The administration is challenging, but he's working through it. His problem is being in the public eye.

In this ...See More

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Vet Teacher On 12/04/12, J wrote: >> It could help if you'd give some examples of what suggestions the >> parents are making and how well in general the kids are doing in >> math. > > Lately the parents haven't been making suggestions, just complaining > what’s happening in the class. The examples that come to mind have to > do ...See More

Dec 5, 2012

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VT Basically you're asking how to make happen what Abraham Lincoln said was impossible to do - make all of the people happy all of the time. Except you're asking how to get the complaininig parents to stop complaining and you're asking how to live in the same community with complaining parents who don't like how you teach.

I'd say if you wan...See MoreBasically you're asking how to make happen what Abraham Lincoln said was impossible to do - make all of the people happy all of the time. Except you're asking how to get the complaininig parents to stop complaining and you're asking how to live in the same community with complaining parents who don't like how you teach.

I'd say if you want parents to receive your teaching well, give the impression of being flexible, not inflexible. Choose carefully the hills you want to die on especially as this principal of yours sounds like a flake.

Does anybody like tests? Nobody really likes tests and if a parent says they don't want their child to ever take a test, that parent is truly crazy and there are some truly crazy people in the world. Those are parents that all of us do well to try to charm into submission. And no truly caring parent wants their child to do poorly but yes, there are very demanding people out there. We're Americans - Americans are not shy and retiring people. We don't just take what's handed out - we fight back.

If you end up in a fight with a parent, everybody loses - the teacher, the parent and the kid and the responsibility for professionalism falls on us. Never use the phrase 'pedagogically sound' to a parent because that sounds crazy to them and experts in education can't agree on what's pedagogically sound.

As I said before, we have to be salesmen as well as teachers. We have to sell our policies and practices to our adminstrators even to our flaky administrators. If you're asking how to get parents to swallow everything we do and get no flack from anybody - that's not a realistic question for the modern world especially in a country of fighters.

We're also the world's fattest country - so that makes us the most indulgent people on earth as well. We have no practice in self-denial or self-discipline and if that's going to be a policy upheld in the classroom, you have to do a lot of charming explaining and tread softly a step at a time toward less indulgence and greater responsibility.

But if you can manage to sell yourself to parents as a basically very caring teacher who errs on the side of caring about kids and wanting all kids to be successful, parents will tolerate a great deal from you. And while this can make any teacher groan, going in early or staying late and offering that extra time as 'free tutoring' can result in parents absolutely loving you even if you understandably don't love doing it.

If parents ignore you at the supermarket or Little League game, don't let them. It makes you look guilty. Go over and smile warmly and say "I don't want to interrupt your afternoon but seeing you here I did want to say hello. What a great day for a game - enjoy the day."

Be sure parents know you like their kids - or act like you like their kids. NO parent likes a teacher who seems like they don't like their kids and they'll forgive a lot too from a teacher who seems genuinely warm toward the kids. Good luck.

> > > I guess he could change the policies, but then he'd potentially be doing > so all the time and for reasons that may not be pedagogically sound. > And these are not awful, onerous policies; they're very doable for > middle school. It doesn't hurt the kids to learn to keep things > organized if they know they'll need to find things later. They get a > ton of reminders and help in this regard. > > j

Dec 8, 2012

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Technology Survey For Elementary School Teachers

by D. Singh

Nov 26, 2012

Hi

I am currently writing my thesis for Graduate School, which involves research. I have created a survey in regards to tech support in elementary schools. I would appreciate if any of the teachers on this website could fill out. Below is the link to the survey

[link removed]

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Neat idea: Going For Gold - A Way Teachers Can Gain

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Nov 30, 2012

Neat idea! Going For Gold - A Way Teachers Can Gain Perspective - by Sarah Powley

I tell this story now to beginning teachers and others who are temporarily off their stride. You’ll get to yellow. One square at a time. And then it will be time to go for gold...

[link removed]

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