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
Rookie Mistakes New Teachers by Joel Wagner - September 22, 2010September 25, 20102 This year I am in the position to be able to work relatively closely with two first-year teachers and a second-year teacher. I also am working full time with a third-year teacher. One of my primary objectives this year is to be able to talk through some of their challenges and hopefully offer some suggestions for how they can better grow as teachers through the process. I see them making a lot of the mistakes that I used to make. In my discussions with some of the more experienced folks around me, I hear them refer to these as rookie mistakes. We all make mistakes in our jobs on a daily basis. Some mistakes that we make are more normal than
Call for Guest Bloggers General by Joel Wagner - May 31, 2010June 30, 20101 I have a few things planned for the summer, but one thing I really would like to do is feature a series of articles by first-year teachers reflecting on their first year of teaching. If you have a blog, feel free to quote liberally from your posts throughout the year. If not, that's okay! You can write one post or even a handful of them. I'd really like to be able to get these thoughts out there and share them with future first-year teachers. Maybe you've been teaching for longer. Maybe you haven't. Either way, you are also welcome to submit guest posts. Anything that might remotely relate to teachers is welcome. For ideas from previous guest bloggers, check out
Reader Appreciation 2008: Scribbler Reader Appreciation by Atticus Parker - November 10, 2008August 3, 20103 November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? This year’s focus is First Year Teaching Tips. There’s still room if you want to participate! Contact me and let me know your answer to this question: What are some things you wish you had known before you started your first year of teaching? Today’s response is from Scribbler, the author of Scribbler's Den. This has been a great exercise. I have so much to write about now! A school's focus on student results and grades is not necessarily a focus on their education. You should focus on their education. The structure of the school year into units, terms and semesters mean the years will
Pacing: What Every Great Band Director Knows Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - September 25, 2008May 29, 20167 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 do you keep them occupied? The academic term
April 2007 Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - April 2, 2008July 2, 20102 By the way, yesterday's article about quitting? Not true. April Fools. Thanks for all the wonderful comments. And I'm sure most of my regulars figured it out. But, as Waski pointed out: The things [I] describe do turn many good teachers off on teaching. With some of the silliness I’m presented with, I wonder at times why I bother putting up with it. Of course, most jobs have the silliness and ridiculous paperwork in one form or another. I love teaching. As Betty points out, teaching is so much a part of me. No matter if I leave the "education profession" or not, I will remain a teacher and will always find myself teaching in some capacity or another. I
New Teacher Survival Kit General by Joel Wagner - August 3, 2007August 5, 201620 We’ve all been there. The beginning of the first year of teaching can be daunting, to say the least. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. First year horror stories abound. The number of teachers who quit after the first year or two of teaching matches or exceeds the number of teachers who stick with the profession. My theory is that teachers leave the biz for lack of knowledge. College only can do so much in preparation. We hear of how much better student teaching was back in the day than it is now, and how poorly prepared prospective educators are these days. There may be validity in that, but lamenting these things doesn’t solve problems.