10 Lessons I Have learned In 10 Years of Teaching Inspiration by Joel Wagner - June 6, 2012July 25, 20165 At the conclusion of 10 years of teaching, I started to reminisce about what I have learned. This article summarizes 10 lessons I have learned in 10 years of teaching. After having successfully completed my tenth year as a professional educator, I have come to realize that a lot of what I used to think worked didn't really work...at least not long-term. While some things may be effective in the immediate future, they are not sustainable down the road, and sometimes even backfire if used to often and too early. 1. Love your job and your students No matter how hard you try to pretend you love your job, if you don't, the kids will see right through you. Students feed off of the energy that
10 Years of Teaching: A Reflection Inspiration by Joel Wagner - June 4, 2012July 1, 20163 I started this blog more than five years ago. I have now come to the conclusion of my 10th year of teaching. In this article and the upcoming series, I reflect on some of what I have learned in my 10 years of teaching. A reflection It strikes me that much of what I have written on this blog, especially in the older articles is simply wrong. Some of the information can be misleading or easily misunderstood. In the upcoming weeks and months, I aim to readdress some of those same issues from my new, far more patient and friendly mindset. At the same time, there are some core beliefs I held to in those early days that are ever strong in me and I
Help: Should I Become A Teacher? New Teachers by Joel Wagner - January 9, 2011January 9, 201110 Denise comments:I am in a teaching program, half way through and I just completed my first to "teaching" classes. Â Now I have this hugh feeling I've made a BIG mistake and that teaching isn't what I thought it was or that I'm not cut out for it. Not to mention the outlook for finding a job looks bleak. Seems like the writing is on the wall... Â Problem is I have been a stay at home mom for 13 years and don't know what else I could do? Â I really do not want to finish the program because I feel I am wasting my time, my money and my heart isn't in it anymore. Â I have always wanted to help people
10 Things I Wish Someone Had Explained Before My First Teaching Job New Teachers by Joel Wagner - January 8, 2011June 5, 20162 I participated in the Reform Symposium recently and hosted a session entitled 10 Things I Wish Someone Had Explained Before My First Teaching Job. Go to the link here. A lot of these things are topics I've covered before, but here is what looks to be the outline for now. Professional Sanity Get a handle on classroom management early Practice selective ignorance Don’t argue with students The phone is your friend Learn from the experience of other teachers Ask questions When someone offers you advice, try to implement the suggestions; if they don’t work, figure out why not and try again Learn to listen Have fun Kids feed off of whatever energy you transfer One of the top ways to fight burnout is to
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
The Evolution of Marching – 38 Years of DCI World Champions [VIDEO] Music Education by Joel Wagner - May 22, 2010June 30, 20100 As the school year winds down, band directors invariably begin turning their minds towards the upcoming marching season. This year, I have a 7th grade percussionist who knows a ton of trivia about Drum Corps International. His father used to march and has taught across the country, so he comes to middle school with a much better background of the history of drumming than most students. Over the last few weeks, I've been having some conversations with him and I began to realize that he doesn't know a lot about the old history of marching, and I don't know a lot about recent marching history. So I thought I'd go look through the YouTube archives and watch parts of as
Should All Great Blogs Have A Comments Policy? Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - April 26, 2009June 30, 201023 Recently, Holly left a comment that brought out a few points. I wanted my readers to address her question, and so I posted that question. In the process of doing so, I realized that her comment (and a few others lately) raised a key question for me as to whether or not I should have a codified Comments Policy for So You Want To Teach? As I've been working my way through Darren's 31 Days to Build A Better Blog project, I've been analyzing a lot of things on my site. I've come to realize that there are a few things lacking on my blog that a lot of the great blogs I read out there have. With Holly's question
Life Lesson 5: Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit General by Joel Wagner - October 15, 2008July 1, 20100 Today is Blog Action Day. The topic of choice for this year is poverty. I want to approach it from a completely different viewpoint than most of the bloggers are. I want to look at the spiritual aspect of poverty. And seeing the multitudes, [Jesus] went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:1-3 (NKJV) Something that has become very evident to me over the past few years is just how self-centered I am. A lot of the time, I say selfish things as a joke, but I also realize
Positive Steps To Fix A Problematic Band Music Education by Joel Wagner - October 9, 2008June 25, 20161 My band sounds good. My band behaves very very well. My band is going to be great this year. This comes as the result of 6 years of learning from my mistakes. It wasn't always that way. When I got them in August, I didn't know how it was going to work out. They didn't listen. They didn't watch. They talked a lot. They were more interested in being social than in sounding good. They didn't sit in "Ready Position" much of the time. Their posture when they played was bad. Too many of them were on the back of their chair and not sitting up straight. Here is a realistic look at some things I have done this year to fix
10 Things I Wish I Knew As A First Year Teacher New Teachers by Joel Wagner - September 20, 2008August 5, 201624 Pat, over at Successful Teaching, recently tagged me in her blog challenge. She suggested that I write an article about the single most important piece of advice I would give a new teacher. It's odd that she would write that, as it has been something I've been thinking about a lot lately. So much so, in fact, that my list goes beyond one. Each remaining day this month, I plan to elaborate on each of these subjects, but the list for now will suffice. Get a handle on classroom management early Start a blog now! Establish a small circle of teacher friends Make efforts to reach every student Pacing Establish clear, concise, comprehensive classroom rules Maintain your old lifestyle after your
Student Absences & Make-Up Work…What Do You Do? General by Joel Wagner - July 15, 2008July 1, 201011 This article was recently featured in the Carnival of Education, #180. Check it out if you haven't already! I was recently asked about how I handle student absences and make-up work. As a band director, generally an absence simply means they missed out on a rehearsal and we don't have a lot of make-up work to assign. This gives me limited experience dealing with the issue. I am confident that most of the readers of this blog have far more experience in this realm. So it got me thinking, and I want to throw some questions out you you. How do you handle make-up work for students? What steps do you take for students with excessive absences? What
On The Brink Of Quitting Inspiration by Joel Wagner - June 25, 2008July 1, 201010 Lisa writes: I googled "bitter about teaching" and came up with your blog. I was recently let go from a school I busted my a$$ in for a whole year (my first year) - constant criticism, cattiness, and pointing out and embellishing the negative things I had done while minimizing the positive (all the while they were telling me to stay positive!). She concludes her email: I just wanted to let you know that your blog picked me up a little bit. I still have a lot of healing to do, but I'm glad that I'm not the only person that this has happened to. What an awesome thing! In case you missed the story, here are a few articles
A Community Is Developing Here! Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - June 19, 2008July 1, 20104 If you haven't been keeping up with the comments on here, shame on you. Fortunately, I have been. Let me fill you in. You see, I have installed a new plugin that allows people to reply to comments that others make. The reply will include a link directly to the comment that was left. It's working out pretty well for me. I have noticed that as I reply to some of the comments, many of you have subscribed to receive other comments. And so my replies go to your inbox. And then sometimes people reply back. It's working out well. Recently, Stephanie posted a comment on my article No Child Left Behind: Doomed To Fail? In her comment, she suggested
The Blog Revolution: Day 3 – Keep ’em Coming Back Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - May 7, 2008July 2, 20102 As we continue the Blog Revolution Project, we come to day three of our focus on writing. Today will look at one of the best ways to keep readers coming back each day. It also happens to be one of the best ways to bring in traffic much further down the road. We'll focus on the art of the series. Just as we looked at how writing lists can be very popular on Monday, another great way to encourage traffic to return is to write lists, but extend them over a period of a few days or even a few weeks. Essentially writing lists of articles, or a series. Some of the pivotal points in this blog's history have revolved
The Blog Revolution: Day 1 – Add Truckloads of Great Content Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - May 5, 2008July 2, 20106 Today is the official beginning of the Blog Revolution Project. The plan is to transform your blog entirely from something that simply holds some information to a valuable resource for others. Each day, I will write a brief article, end with a mission. Some missions will be things you can accomplish in a matter of minutes, while others will take a while. Today's topic is probably the most important, and ultimately should be the mission of your blog every single time you write something. Add great content If you want people to visit your blog, they will need to have a reason to visit. If you want people to return to your blog, they will need to have a reason