This is a guest post by Drew, who currently teaches 7th Grade Texas History in the San Antonio area, where he has taught since 2004.

Maybe this job doesn’t pay enough for those with heavy material needs. But, working here has helped me with the most important part of my life.

10. Family – My comfort level with my material for class has improved each and every year. I spent Friday nights, usually until the wee Saturday morning hours, setting up lesson plans for the next week. I was never able to get ahead on my work. I had two preps and no lesson plans from other teachers to guide me. By November of this school year, I had stopped bringing…

Do you hate your job? I just finished my third week of school and am excited about how much fun my job will be this year. It’s super exciting. I remember back when I was a first year teacher, though. It wasn’t quite like this. This was underscored this week when a couple of anonymous readers (disgruntled and hey) left the following comments:

It’s interesting reading all these comments and I was searching the internet for other jobs I could do if I wasn’t a teacher.. My story is the opposite. I have a great bunch of students and a really supportive (mostly) group of parents also. I am disgruntled by the workload and also extra things that end up taking…

This is a guest post by Tom Anselm. His book, You’re Never Too Old For Space Camp is available in Ebook or Paperback formats from Booklocker.com.

“My kids go to a good school”
What parent doesn’t want to be able to say this about the bricks and mortar location where they entrust their offspring for 7 hours a day, 180 days a year, again and again.

And for that matter, what teacher worth his or her salt doesn’t want to be able to say with some conviction, “Yeah, I work in a good school.”

This word “good” when used in the context of quality holds so much meaning. It brings us to the question of this article. “What…

Andy Zweibel (whom I’ve been following on Twitter for a while now — @Zweibz7) just started up a blog specifically focusing on topics concerning Music Education students. The blog is MusicEdMajor.net.

Andy is currently seeking contributors for the site, and I think this is definitely a worthwhile endeavor. Hopefully we can get in touch with some music education professors and those who have influence in the music education world to try to get more people on board.

I know a handful of musicians and music teachers are subscribed to my blog and I hope they will give Andy some encouragement, links, and just send people his way.

I also would like to add that he has chosen a very nice,…

This is an article in the Total Teacher Transformation series. Click here for a complete table of contents.

I hope that this series so far has been useful for some of you. I’m not getting an overwhelming amount of feedback specifically on the series, but I guess I really can’t complain about over 40 (non-spam) comments in the last week, even if they were not entirely devoted to the Total Teacher Transformation series.

I find that it’s always nice to get feedback when you are trying to do something important. In thinking about this, I am actually reminded of the early days of my Total Teacher Transformation back 5 years ago. I didn’t have anyone there saying, “You’re doing a great job”…

On the one hand, I love my job. I absolutely love the kids I work with and am on pretty good terms with the rest of the band staff.

On the other hand, my life is pretty boring. I have never been a crazy partier or anything (I don’t drink alcohol or much caffeine for that matter). I don’t go out to clubs and can’t stand the bar environment. But in a relatively small town (less than 50,000 people) that is over an hour from the next closest reasonably sized town, life can get to feeling pretty isolated.

A question I have for those of you out there who have been in this type of situation: When did you feel…

A reader wrote in with the following story. I don’t even know how to begin to respond to it, but I’ll add some thoughts at the end. Hopefully this reader’s experience will serve some of you somehow in the future.

When I interviewed at my school, it appeared to be everything I wanted in a job. I interviewed for one prep. I addressed my classroom procedures, consequences I employed, rewards I employed, my teaching style, asked about administrative involvement… and basically heard everything I wanted to hear. I fortunately came to that school with very kind references and evaluations.

What I found on my first day were five preps across three grade levels. When I questioned it, I was told…

Thanksgiving is a holiday for remembering what we have and giving thanks to our God for His blessings. I like to spend the months of November and December reaching out and giving. I practice giving as a regular habit throughout much of my life, but I specifically focus in these two months on giving back to my blogging community.

Last year I highlighted a number of readers with Reader Appreciation Month. At the end, I did some great summaries:

• 50 Classroom Management Tips I Have Learned This Month
• 47 Blogs That My Readers Are Reading
• Top 5 Character Traits Of Great Teachers
• 50 Reasons To Love Your Job As A Teacher

I recently created a list of 10…

One of the greatest challenges that I had as a first year teacher was with classroom management. I’ve mentioned that a number of times before and I think most first year teachers go through that.

As with most, I noticed that I had some days where the kids were good, and others where they were bad. It was just so unpredictible. But why?

What made those days so unpredictible?
I honestly think it was a combination of things. But the most important factor in the behavior of the kids had to do with how much dead time they had. How much time they were unoccupied and had to find something to do to keep themselves occupied.

How…

Teaching children is arguably the most taxing job in the world – it demands a great deal of patience and tolerance all through the day, every day of school. A good teacher takes the extra effort needed to ensure that the children understand what’s taught, not just in the way of lessons but in the way of life too. Sometimes a teacher’s patience is put to the test in the form of difficult students, those who will just not fall in line with the rest of the class. And at others, the whole class acts up and there’s chaos all round. At times like this, it’s no use shouting and tearing out your hair in an attempt to regain control…

Hello, Readers. I decided to take Joel up on his offer of EduBloggers Gone Wild. My name is Miss A and you can find me at Confessions From the Couch. I am beginning my 4th year of teaching in an urban school district and no longer under new teacher status. I feel like I’m at a place where I must CONTRIBUTE to the edublogging community. As I enter into the this new phase of my career, I am using blogging as a reflective and personal growth tool-with limited complaining and griping-because I love my job and the impact it has on my life. My goal is to share my ideas as well as solicit the ideas of other teachers out…

Even if you ignore the majority of this article, check out the last sentence.

I am absolutely loving school since coming back from Christmas Break. Even so, I am beginning to get burned out. If you want to know why, go read this. He’s still not back yet and it’s all but certain that he will not be coming back next week either. Still no clue when I can expect him.I wrote an email to my principal today, some edited excerpts follow:

I love teaching and I love rehearsing the bands, but I am very tired. The students suffer as a result. More than anything else, that is what breaks my heart about the whole situation.
It’s not that…

This is a guest post by Jane Little of My Many Colored Crayons. Jane teaches third grade in Los Angeles, CA.

I teach in a school that has more than it’s share of challenges. Low morale is just one of them. About a year ago I started blogging with this post. It was a raw and honest account of a low point in my teaching career. The problems some of my students faced were heartbreaking to say the least.I had to chuckle when Joel said, “As I read your stuff, I just imagine you being someone who wakes up each morning with a smile on your face. I’d like to see how that plays out in reality a little bit…

November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? Today’s featured reader is Pamela.

Name: Pamela
Location: Michigan
Occupation: Elementary Teacher, Reading Specialist
Blog: Blog may be coming soon, but none yet ;-)

Tell me some of your favorite things about your job
Some of my favorite things about teaching: I enjoy sharing my love of learning and my passion for certain topics. It goes beyond just teaching the material…it’s about making a personal connection with the students. Along those same lines, I love sharing the excitement of a good book. When I introduce it and starting talking about it with excitement, the students can’t wait for me to start reading. When it’s time to stop…

November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? Today’s featured reader is Clix.

Name: Clix
Location: Georgia
Occupation: Freshman English; Journalism
Blog: Epic Adventures Are Often Uncomfortable

Tell me some of your favorite things about your job
I seem to be good at it. I get to explore stories and try new ideas and encourage others to do the same. It’s never dull. I love messing with their heads. I love how wee the freshmen are and watching them grow into young ladies and gentlemen (in theory). I love the power of CONTROLLING LIVES – well, at least for an hour or so a day! I love listening to their ideas and seeing the way…

November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? Today’s featured reader is Pat Hensley.

Name: Pat Hensley
Location: South Carolina
Occupation: I was a high school special ed teacher, now I am a college instructor and educational consultant.
Blog: Successful Teaching

Tell me some of your favorite things about your job
Sharing my experiences and helping unexperienced teachers solve problems

Tell me some things you loved about your favorite teacher(s)
Making me feel that I was important, listening to my ideas, and learning new things from them

List some of your most effective classroom management strategies

1. Improving students’ self concept
2. Have a consistent behavior plan

Name (up to) three other…

As teachers, how often do we stop to think about how much of an impact we could potentially make in the life of one of our students. Even if that student doesn’t ever thank us or even show marked improvement in their academic skills or behavior or whatever, we still may be helping him. Our job is often thankless. Our job is often life-changing. We will not know this side of heaven the number of lives we have changed.

I was recently contacted by a reader who shared an amazing story with me. This deaf man, Stephen J. Hopson, was changed by three simple words from his fifth grade teacher. The story, and the accompanying video, truly made me smile….

November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? Today’s featured reader is Athena.

Name: Athena
Location: South Texas
Occupation: ELA 9th & 10th grade
Blog: http://athena81469.blogspot.com/

Tell me some of your favorite things about your job
I like the freedom of the job. I used to be in a cube job where I had to punch a timeclock all the time. Every moment of my job was timed. I sat and stared at 4 grey fuzzy walls everyday.

Now, I come to work at my own time. Nobody is watching.

Plus, I have control over my job. I decide what and when I teach. I decide if I am going to stay late. I can…

November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? Today’s featured reader is Miss Profe.

Name: Miss Profe
Location:The Northeast
Occupation: Middle/High School Spanish teacher
Blog: It’s A Hardknock Teacher’s Life

Tell me some of your favorite things about your job
The kids, the challenge of teaching a second language in the 21st century

Tell me some things you loved about your favorite teacher(s)
They demanded my best; they recognized my potential.

List some of your most effective classroom management strategies
Walking around the room, tapping on the shoulder, not shouting over students

Name (up to) three other blogs that you frequently visit/subscribe

• Ms. Whatsit
• So You Want To Teach?
• RepairKit

November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? Today’s featured reader is Miss A.

Name: Miss A
Location: Urban city in the South
Occupation: Teacher, World history, African American History 9-12 grade. Mostly 9th grade
Blog: Confessions From The Couch

Tell me some of your favorite things about your job
Facilitating games, watching students “get it,” being able to explore diverse issues and situations.

Tell me some things you loved about your favorite teacher(s)
They were interactive, they were demanding, had high expectations, friendly.

List some of your most effective classroom management strategies
Interactive classroom seating chart, behavior contracts.

Name (up to) three other blogs that you frequently visit/subscribe

• Secondhand Thoughts

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