A Few Things Seasoned Teachers Want NEW Teachers To Know

We had dinner with some friends( 4 teachers with a combined 43 years experience & 1 newbie teacher) last night and the talk turned to what the NEWBIE teacher should BE AWARE of:

• Be a well organized, teacher-shaped version of you, BUT be yourself.  Have boundaries.  THEY can smell a faker MILES away.
• Keep a journal.  Reason is some days you are going to feel like the WORST teacher in the world.  Some days that kid is going to get to you and you are going to fly off the handle.  Some days you are going to want to WALK OUT the DOOR and NEVER GO BACK. EVER!!!!  You are going to need to look back at those moments that made you laugh, made you smile, made you PROUD of them you felt your heart was going to burst, and made you remember why YOU decided to do this brilliant, exhausting, fantastic gig in the 1st place.
• Do not YELL.  REALLY, don't.  Because that ONE TIME the whole year, where you actually need to yell to communicate emphasis, it needs to count.
• WORK OUT!!!  Lesson plans will make you GO INSANE, oh and drain you.  You have to channel that physical energy SOMEWHERE!  Take up yoga at night, cycling/spinning on the weekends or weights in the morning.
• One way to learn ALL your students names is to use their names often in the 1st few days of class.  The more you use their names, the easier it will be to memorize them all.  Teaching becomes easier when students fell comfortable in your classroom. BUT don't make them too comfy!
• LEARN good sleep routines.  There will ALWAYS be something left undone at the end of the day.  Make a list for the next day and let it go for the night.  If you do not sleep well, you will have the SAME amount of work the next day!
• Ahhhhhh the think tank.  You will need peeps to bounce ideas off of and to engage in meaningful discussion about that are going through the same thing you are in the classroom.  It lets you know you're not alone, other can see what you can't, collaborating is the bomb, and someone else might pay for those adult drinks.
• Oh yeah and during this WHOLE observing I was doing…I heard my friends tell the newbie…that some students may test your nerves today.  Do not hold grudges; mañana those same students may be amazing in class.  Though they made you angry yesterday, show 'em your smiles TODAY.  Smiling makes us ALL HAPPIER Peeps!!

Okay what did they miss??? ADD your thoughts teachers-!!!!!