Tips for New Teachers

I asked teachers to give one tip they wish they knew when they first started teaching. This is a list of what they wrote. Share this with a new teacher you know.

1.         Don’t try and do it all your first year! Set small goals to work toward! You have a whole career to meet all your expectations!                                                 

2.         If you get an email from an irate parent, have a veteran teacher read your response before you send it. Sometimes you over react in the heat of the moment. Save all correspondence with parents in an email file. You may have to go back and remind parents what was said.
3.         Along with this, teaching is really a customer service job. Keeping parents informed and having open communication can go a LONG way to preventing issues in the first place. Respecting parents as partners instead of seeing them as obstacles is very important.

4.         Put your name on your stuff.

5.         Take care of yourself! Figure out what that looks like to you and make it happen. Leave the work at work at least once a week. Unless there's an absolute deadline (report cards) it will all be there tomorrow and it'll be easier to manage if your head is clear.

6.         It’s ok to ask another teacher for help on something you’re unsure of.

7.         Don’t be afraid to do it your own way!

8.         Run before you’re trapped. Lol

9.         Pick your battles

10.     Be organized!

11.     Invest in good shoes and a wheeled bag. Your feet, legs, neck, shoulders, and back will thank you in the future.

12.     You are teaching students, not the curriculum. Make connections with them 1st, then you will have them in the palm of your hand with less behavioral problems.

13.     Don't be afraid of veteran teachers. Find one you like and can trust and listen to their advice.

14.     I teach kindergarten and I always say that I should have written down every funny or special thing that the kids say each day. It would just go to show how they have enriched our lives.

15.     Think about if it was your kid how would you want things handled, communicated, spoken to. Becoming a parent changed my perspective as a teacher...

16.     Do your best, but don't forget about yourself!!

17.     If a parent is upset, it is ok to get the information you need and get back to them. Don't take their upset personally, they are only concerned for their kid. But, if you say you will get back to them, then get back to them, even if you don't have the answer... yet.

18.     Teaching is like housework, it’s never done! Don’t feel bad about leaving some for the next day.

19.     When planning to assess, try to get more than one mark out of each assignment (a math activity could give you math strand (s), writing and learning skills - for example

20.     Also limit how much paper you keep. Have a USB on your key ring to save files. You'll try to keep paper, but just end up a hoarder who never checks their paper files anyway...

21.     You cannot evaluate everything your students do. Pick a few key pieces in each concept....and remember, children need time to apply descriptive feedback in order to improve.

22.     Keep as much out of their desks as possible with different table storage options. The less they have in their desks the less they will have to play with during instruction

23.     Take everything admin says with a grain of salt

24.     Have a laugh as often as you can. You are going to need that sense of humor!

25.     Pick your battles and do not argue with a student.

26.     Be flexible!

27.     Write down everything students say that make you laugh or you're never going to hear again.... you'll have quite a book and those are fun to look back on!

28.     Please learn exactly what differentiation is and be sure it is used daily in your instruction. Every child will succeed.

29.     Be empathetic, take into account your students' needs all the time.

30.     It’s not your fault if you don’t know - especially because you don’t know what to ask. Take what ppl say (and how they say it) with a grain of salt.

31.     Start tough, it’s easier to become softer but harder to gain control once you have lost them. You’re their teacher not they’re bestie!

32.     If you teach more than one subject learn how to Integrate the subjects. If it's languages, integrate Reading, writing, speaking and listening then you can cross assess.

33. Work as a TEAM in grade levels. Be open to your TEAM. Stand tall and firm.

34. The work NEVER done. Be ok with that.

35. Say what you mean, mean what you say.

36. Start saving for retirement your first year. Ask for help if you need it. Find an outlet for your frustration

37.  Be teachable! Listen to people who are seasoned

38.  Save up your coins! You will want to retire by the age of 50. I was told this by veteran teachers.  I wish I had listened.

39.   All behavior serves a function. Figure out the function.

40.  Don't sweat the small stuff! And pick and choose your battles. 

41.  Follow your instincts

42. Listen to all the advices and tips. Use the ones you think will suit your audiences well

43. Don’t let the kids sit the entire lesson. Have them move around, work collaboratively, and be engaged with them.

44.  Don't take it personal

45. Don't take someone's burden be confident to say no

46. Don’t be arrogant, over confident and listen to advice.

47. Close the classroom door and teach from the heart.

48. Positive praise for behavior management.

49. Work on developing positive relationships with every member of the school community.

50. Listen to the children and observe behavior patterns - some have things going on outside of school that they are dealing with on a daily basis. Nurture them and they will thrive.

51.  Never expect to do everything on your ‘to do’ list. It’s impossible. Be kind to yourself and prioritize.

52.  Take the words from the mouths of your students. Trust them they will only tell you truth. Every student has a key. Get to know them more it helps. Love is the magical key to a wonderful class. This is based on my experience with students who were labeled by other teachers as bad (sadly). These students were awarded best students by the end of the year.

53. Listen to your children

54. People will be quick to throw you under the bus make sure you document not only students and parents but also certain interactions with administration/ staff

55. They are all YOUR children. Build understanding and relationships, a positive, encouraging class culture and foster thinkers and risk-takers. Then relax (despite the hard work), enjoy and foster a love of learning - yours and your students’!

56. Start out strong or tight. You can always loosen up but never tighten up.

57.  I'm still new, but all I want to know are tips and tricks for being in this work environment, building community with my peers... stuff like that. They teach you SO much about the classroom in college, but hardly anything about the SCHOOL.

58. Be willing to share. Try to be a team player with teaching partner even if a bit out of your comfort zone. My teaching   partner and I duplicate a lot of things for each other and we keep a file of stuff we can pull from for emergencies. We both fill it and be sure there are class sets for both of us if one of us is ever away.

59.  Some boards offer a mentoring program that pairs you with a more experienced teacher as your mentor. Check your board or see if someone on staff would be willing to sit down with you a couple of times a year to plan, answer questions and help you. It's nice to have a go-to person on staff that you can ask for help...

60. Never promise something (positive or negative) that you can't, or don't intend to, follow through on. Your credibility will be ruined, and they will walk all over you.

61. Try to get all your plans done for the next week before you leave on Friday. You need a weekend too!

62.  Be emphatic with both teachers and student. Everyone's trying to be their best. Help where you feel you can and think and save for retirement as soon you start.

63. Be careful who you choose to trust. It can get very political so say nothing to anyone that you don't want to come back to bite you.

64. Document everything!  And travel lightly, don't hoard materials

65.  Start with files right away. Keep 2 copies of items. With 1 it may get lost

66.  Stop what you are doing and look the student in the eyes as they speak to you. Hear what they are trying to communicate to you. Then say, I heard you say...what would you like me to do? Sometimes they just want to be heard or they want you to know.

67. Don’t be hard on yourself -mistakes will happen

68.  Trust your gut feeling

69.  Never use your cell phone or home phone to return calls. Return calls from work!

70.  Don't get too friendly with parents or care takers.

71. YES! And don't friend parents or any students on Facebook.

72. Never get in the middle of parents going through a divorce.

73.  Keep where you live a secret.

74.  Do not tutor after school. It's just a free babysitting service.

75.  Don't trust everyone in the PTO!

76.  Work your contracted hours only.

77. Always go home early one day a week. Decide which day at the beginning of the year and then         stick to it!

78. Foster friendship with families, while remaining in charge of your classroom. Teamwork makes the dream work!

79. Ask for help don’t try to be a hot shot.

80.  Have a procedure for EVERYTHING. If the kids don't follow the procedure, have them do it over and over again until it's to your liking. If they are doing the wrong thing, it's because they don't know how you want them to do it. Take plenty of time to go over your procedures at the beginning of the year. You'll think yourself mid-year and end of year.

81. Exactly...teach procedures first and then curriculum.

82. Incorporate "brain matching" into your lessons. Really gets kids engaged.

83. Whole brain thinking

84. I have been teaching for 30 + years and just got into trying more student engagement techniques. It really pays off!

85. Take the time to organize your classroom library!

86. Plan for the unexpected!