50 Things Every First Year Teacher Should Know New Teachers by Joel Wagner - September 2, 2012August 6, 20173 The first year teacher is often a very lonely and isolated person. They often feel like everyone else has everything already figured out, and they are the only one struggling. That is not the case. In fact, so many of us are in survival mode and dealing with our own issues that we forget to help the first year teachers out. Below is a list of 50 things I picked up in my first 10 years of teaching that can hopefully help you through some of those lonely times. I am in my 11th year of teaching now. Where did the time go? One of the top search results that sends people to this blog is "First Year Teacher" so I thought that
Do What You Can General by Joel Wagner - April 15, 2010June 30, 20103 This year has been one of learning for me. Physical activity has been a struggle for me for years, and so in January when I decided I would set out to run a 5K this spring, it was a shock to pretty much everyone who knows me. The thing that has most intrigued me has been how much I have learned about life just from this one decision. I intend to spend the summer writing about these topics quite a bit. I also plan to dig into some of the other series that I began on the blog and for whatever reason never completed. Needless to say, I have a good bit of reading and writing that I will be
Video: What Do Teachers Make by Taylor Mali General by Joel Wagner - October 24, 2009June 30, 20100 By Taylor Maliwww.taylormali.com He says the problem with teachers is, "What's a kid going to learnfrom someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"He reminds the other dinner guests that it's true what they say aboutteachers:Those who can, do; those who can't, teach. I decide to bite my tongue instead of hisand resist the temptation to remind the other dinner gueststhat it's also true what they say about lawyers. Because we're eating, after all, and this is polite company. "I mean, you¹re a teacher, Taylor," he says."Be honest. What do you make?" And I wish he hadn't done that(asked me to be honest)because, you see, I have a policyabout honesty and ass-kicking:if you ask for
Graduate First – Why I Won’t Add You As My Facebook Friend Yet Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - September 20, 2009June 7, 201214 This weekend, I read Back to School: Tips for Teachers on Facebook on the Facebook blog. In it, the author writes:Some teachers stay away from Facebook altogether, while others -- like some of my friends -- have found creative workarounds such as only accepting friend requests from students who've graduated or those who are over the age of 18. However, it doesn't have to be that difficult. In fact, it is useful and rewarding to connect with your students on Facebook. So, in honor of all the people who are heading back to school this month, here are some tips for using Facebook.The article continues by outlining some things that we as teachers can do to secure the privacy of
10 Keys To Unlocking The Best Possible Student Teaching Semester Ever New Teachers by Joel Wagner - January 4, 2009February 26, 20115 I am getting emails coming in and have some friends who are about to start student teaching. Many of them seem to be expressing the same fear about going into student teaching. As we quickly approach what will for many be the first week of student teaching, I thought it would be helpful to throw out these 10 keys to unlocking the best possible student teaching semester ever. I was fortunate that I had been teaching private lessons for three years already in the district where I student taught before I began. My school had a two semester process, with the first being mostly observation and the second being full internship. I spent far more than the required 8 hours
5 Ways To Win When Children Test Your Limits Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - October 20, 2007July 5, 20107 I'm taking a break today from my Stress Reduction series and getting back to some real teaching issues. That's why we're here anyway, right? So August and September have come and gone with great behavior. Now the students are beginning to do a lot more testing of the limits. It's been a while since I have taught 7th & 8th graders and now I remember how much they like to get away with. Even the good students do things from time to time that just boggle my mind. WHY DID YOU DO THAT? It's crazy. How do I handle these misbehaving miscreants? Stick to your rules Consistency is the only way for success in this area. Just because
Weekend Wrapup 07/30/07 Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - July 30, 2007July 5, 20101 This is my second installment of the weekend wrapup. I wanted to focus on some great articles I saw this week that relate to writing and blogging. Mystery Teacher has written about the lack of good writing and grammar that has become so common throughout our society. Using the English Language lately? Copyblogger has an article about editing. I don't edit enough. When I do edit on this blog, it is usually after I have published. We could all use help on getting anyone to read every word we write. Eric writes about the seeming lack of college education majors who blog. I wonder if this is because people are scared to start a blog for fear of not
Habit 5: Community Habits Personal by Joel Wagner - July 13, 2007July 5, 20101 This is the fifth in a series of articles entitled 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers. Community Procedures How do you interact with your community? I know for many teachers, this is a frightening proposition. Reading some things that other teachers post, it seems that most teachers who live in the same community wherein they teach either participate in public activities either in fear, out of seeming ignorance, or with balance. this is probably my weakest area and something I am seriously working to get better at. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Participating in fear This is probably the category I often find myself most associated with. These people avoid most public places. They do