1. Routines are super important.
The world is an uncertain place. Your classroom however, is predictable and safe. Routines are essential for your class. They not only save time, but they enable students to consistently understand what to do. This means they spend less time wondering what is required in the task, and more time transferring information from the working memory to their long term memory.
2. Trial and Error is my new way of life.
There are so many options when you’re deciding how to do something. I am a bit of a perfectionist and hold myself to high expectations. But I’ve realised that each time I try something, it’s not the be all and end all if it doesn’t work. You might try something and it works wonders. You might try something and it goes down terribly. It’s important to remember that what works for one student won’t work for another. It makes the day fun and creative, how many ways can you make something work?
3. Behaviour management is tough.
I’ve always said I want to be consistent when it comes to behaviour management. I’ve realised over the past two weeks how difficult behaviour management is. Our behaviour policy at school in my opinion doesn’t effectively support teachers. I’ve therefore given myself two rules for my classroom.
1. Only one person talking at a time.
2. When I ask you to do something you do it.
It can be hard to manage emotional intelligence and expectations for your class. It’s far harder than I thought it would be. My final thought on this – don’t ever let your class see they can wind you up.
4. To celebrate the little wins.
Teaching can be really tough if you don’t celebrate the little wins. If a student answers a question right, or if someone who is usually quiet engages in the lesson. These are all wins you can celebrate. I chalk down a win if a student is polite and responsive during a conversation. If you don’t count the little wins, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by everything else.
5. Get your printing done early.
This is pretty self explanatory. There’s nothing worse than planning a lesson, going to get your printing sorted, and for whatever reason it not working. I’ve seen the printer break, I’ve seen people leave the printer on for hours printing thousands of sheets. I’ve seen it run out of ink and it always happen right before your lesson. Save yourself the stress and get your printing done early.
6. Time management.
Now more than ever time management has become essential to a structured day. At our school, teachers no longer have a classroom but must switch rooms between each lesson. Therefore effectively managing your time becomes essential. I learnt quickly not to waste time on tasks that weren’t the most important. A really easy way is to get yourself a timer, it keep you to time, and is a good visual for your students.
7. Ask lots of questions.
Most teacher trainees are provided with a mentor. My mentor is busy, she has her own schedule to sort plus a number of other responsibilities. I had to force myself to ask questions. I’m learning and the only way I’ll learn is by asking questions. Don’t worry about getting in the way, or being a burden, it is more important for you to ask your questions than to feel confused and frustrated because you didn’t.
8. Your day is never boring.
I love the fact that my day absolutely flies by. I’m never counting the clock. Education is fast paced and exciting, it’s chunked in a really nice day. You are constantly talking about new pieces of information and the students are never boring.
9. It’s a slow process.
Learning to become a good teacher is a journey. I hold myself to high expectations and I’m used to being good at things. Therefore, there were moments I was really frustrated with myself for getting things wrong. I have to remember I’m on the start of a 2+ year journey of becoming a good teacher. It isn’t going to happen overnight. Let yourself off the hook and each day just make a decision to learn and get a little better.
10. Nothing will be perfect.
This bring me to my final point. When on this journey, letting go of perfection is a must. Nothing will ever be perfect; there is always something to improve. You don’t have the time nor energy to meticulously pour through each lesson plan, and make it perfect. Sometimes “good enough” is just, good enough. When we stop expecting everything to be perfect we give ourselves capacity to be happier and healthier teachers.
I hope this was useful. I have already learnt so much in my first two weeks and I’ve got so many things I could talk about. Being in education is such a privilege and I hope that I become a useful asset to my students. Which if I keep learning – I’m sure I will!
Till next week 🙂
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