New Teacher Nook

I have met multiple people new to teaching and have seen the need for more support and guidance, which also includes my own experience. The 1^st year teachers have to solely depend on their mentor (at school, usually an experienced teacher on campus) and their supervisor (from the Educational agency or the Alternative Certification Program) to help them with catching up on their requirement, shadowing other teachers while teaching a class by themselves in order to get their standard teaching certificate. I remember my 1^st year when I started at an alternate drop-out high school where students ranged from 17 years to 22 years! To say it was hard is an understatement! In addition to teaching Science, I was learning classroom management and my group of students was not traditional high school students. These students were put or chose to come here because they were either high school dropouts or overage for their zoned schools. Most of them, if not all, held jobs, and many of them were coming back to the school setting after being out of high school for a few years. As you may imagine, few of them were very motivated and wanted to earn their high school diploma or GED, because they have been in real-life situations outside of classrooms and had experienced how this educational qualification would help them. But there were other over-age students who simply did not have the wisdom or the desire to learn in school. It was a tough balance, and as a 1st-year teacher it was eye-opening, unconventional and a learning experience to say the least. 

Luckily, I had a great mentor on campus, who was a coach (not my appraiser) and a great supervisor (from my ACP program) both of whom gave me timely and constructive feedback. I learned a lot from both these adults as well as my young adult students during my 1^st year. I learned to build relationships as I realized they were key in a school setting like this; or if you ask me in any school setting. I had to make learning relevant, engaging and hands-on as passive learning was not an option. I put to use what I had learned in school about constructive classrooms, and how not to be a sage on the stage. Students worked cooperatively all the time and I followed the 5 E model to make sure my lessons had the engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate mini-lessons built-in on a daily basis. I also had an exceptional school Principal, who was always there to guide and advise me, and whom I consider my guru and a 2nd mom. She helped me leaps and bounds in finding my talent and guided me in pursuing higher education and other certifications.

Of course, it gets better with time, as you learn the art as well as the science of teaching. You learn how to actively manage classroom while students get the content and expertise; to be able to teach and reach multiple varied learning styles and abilities students in a 4 walled classroom, to learn to meet their basic hierarchical needs before you get them ready for academics and how to be a clear, adult role-model for them.

If you are a newbie, I am here to give you tips to make your first-year teaching easy and survivable based on my own experience. Read on-  

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1. Failing to plan will lead to planning to fail; so always plan ahead. 
2. Always start with the end in mind; backward planning 
3. Smile and greet students daily at the door 
4. Get to know your students; relationships matter a lot 
5. A seating chart is a necessity 
6. Make your classroom text rich. Use anchor charts and student work displayed
7. The first days of school by Wong is still a classic and helpful book The First Days Of School: How To Be An Effective Teacher (Book and CD) 3rd Edition 
8. Keep and maintain a journal. Lessons that you learn are key in making the subsequent years easier and better 
9. Make sure to attend PDs offered by the school district on classroom management, and Special populations: ELL, SpEd and GT  
10. Some golden books to have in your shelf:  

Teach like a champion Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College

Classroom instruction that works Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement

Some later year books that add wisdom and knowledge to your foundation as a teacher: 

Habits of mind Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind: 16 Essential Characteristics for Success

Literacy across discipline Active Literacy Across the Curriculum: Strategies for Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening

Please contact me at nishtha@dawnandhope.com if you have any questions about surviving 1^st year. I have been there and done that! 

Education: 

State-certified teacher in Sciences grades 4-8, Life Sciences grades 8-12 and Sciences grade 8-12 

Master’s in Education (M.Ed) in Curriculum and Instruction with a minor in Reading

Administrator/Principal certification, Principal grades EC-12