Reader Appreciation 2008: Pat Hensley Reader Appreciation by Joel Wagner - November 5, 2008July 1, 20102 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 Pat Hensley, the author of Successful Teaching. Knowing how to set up a grade book and weighing different assignments Have a support system Meeting with other new teachers and sharing day to day problems Technology (computers in the classroom didn’t exist back then) Constructive criticism from someone who actually taught in my subject area Real textbooks (I had to dig mine out of the textbook
Reader Appreciation 2008: Doug Johnson Reader Appreciation by Joel Wagner - November 4, 2008July 1, 20102 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 Doug Johnson, the author of the wildly popular Blue Skunk Blog. Since he already posted his top 10 list on his own blog, I'll go ahead and send you over there so you can see his first year teaching picture. He's a brave man! This is in response to (a very flattering) request by Joel on his So You Want
Reader Appreciation 2008: David Warlick Reader Appreciation by Joel Wagner - November 3, 2008July 1, 20102 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 David Warlick, the author of the wildly popular 2¢ Worth. It is important to note that when I interviewed for my first teaching job and was offered the position, I didn't know that I had been interviewing for a Math vacancy, and they didn't know that they has been interviewing a Social Studies teacher. I accepted the job, however, and proceeded to have
Learning New Lessons — Tips for Rookie Teachers New Teachers by Kelly Kilpatrick - October 13, 2008June 25, 20162 This guest article features tips for rookie teachers and was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick,who writes on the subject of an online college degree. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com If there's one profession that generates both joy and frustration in equal amounts, it's teaching -- veterans will attest to the fact that they're extremely satisfied one day even as they want to tear out their hair the next. Those who are familiar with the ups and downs associated with the trade are able to adjust accordingly and not feel too stressed out even before the middle of the school year, but if you're a rookie who's just entered the world of teaching, here are a few tips to help you
Restoring Hope To Your Teaching Job Inspiration by Joel Wagner - October 7, 2008June 5, 20164 I've noticed something lately. I have gotten a handful of comments and emails from people who seem to be teaching in what appears outwardly as a hopeless situation. I contend that the problem very rarely is in their situation. The problem rests in the lost joy and the long forgotten hope they once had. The dream is not shattered, it simply is not in sight right now. Why have we lost sight of that hope? Because we lack focus. My assertion is that we have lost focus because we are too busy reacting to events and items that try to wrestle our attention away from the important things. Jonathan wrote a great article about dealing with your mailbox last week. I think
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
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
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.
The Source Of Motivation Inspiration by Joel Wagner - June 28, 2007July 5, 20101 We've all seen them. People who are able to motivate large numbers of people to do things as a team. Great coaches, teachers, politicians, and even dictators. All of them are great motivators. Until recently, I would have agreed with that statement. I sat down this week and began reading through Bandmasters Review, the official publication of the Texas Bandmasters Association. The first article is entitled "The Real Key to True Leadership" by Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser. In the article, Dr. Lautzenheiser argues that motivation can only come intrinsically. He refers to any attempts at extrinsic motivation as merely manipulation. Powerful stuff there. So what is the source of motivation? Etymologically, the word "motivation" comes from the Latin word motere. This
Arguing Is Normal, Isn’t It? Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - June 21, 2007July 20, 20161 Most students argue. It's a fact of life. So it shouldn't be a concern when our students argue with us. Or should it? Great teachers don't have arguers Have you ever noticed how you can walk into a classroom and hear the teacher talking, and the students being quiet? They are given directions, and nobody challenges the assignment. What is it that makes that happen? One of the keys to keeping students quiet is to present the concept that every action is the result of a choice. Based on some customer service books I read last summer, I began the year with a sign at the entrance and front of the room. The sign said simply "CHOOSE YOUR ATTITUDE" and also had happy
Clarity Leads To Organization Stress Reduction by Joel Wagner - June 15, 2007July 5, 20100 In my last post Organization Leads To Sanity, I wrote about how I personally get organized at work. In this post, I am going to give some pointers that I have and that I plan to begin implementing that will allow anyone to get and stay organized much more easily. These tips apply both to the physical workspace as well as the digital workspace. I am going to spend the next few weeks implementing them in my home as well in an effort to bring me a greater sense of purpose in everything I do. Declutter I touched on this one recently, and I seem to touch on it frequently, because it is vital. Eliminating clutter will
Organization Leads To Sanity Stress Reduction by Joel Wagner - June 14, 2007July 5, 20102 After a conversation with another teacher last night, I started looking through the archives. I realized that I have written a few times about having a clean desk and a clean desktop on my computer, but I have never really given a step-by-step guide of how I got there and some of the things I do to maintain that. If you are not yet familiar with David Allen's Getting Things Done philosophy, it is a book that covers many personal productivity issues. I have not yet read it, but have read numerous blog posts about it. The most thorough I've seen so far is here at the GTD FAQ from Zen Habits. If you have never heard anything about the
Finishing Strong Music Education by Joel Wagner - May 28, 2007July 5, 20100 A band director I used to work with said this. The concept is that success comes from finishing something well. It's easy to start something great. Greatness comes from finishing something great. That is why greatness is so elusive. One And A Half Is Not The Same As Two I find myself saying the very thing to my students. Why? Because so many of them start notes well but give up before the end. One and a half is not the same as two. A half note does not get most of two beats, it gets two beats. Simple. But How Does This Apply To Me? Simple. Most of us teachers are at or near the end of the
Be The Best Teacher In The World Inspiration by Joel Wagner - May 19, 2007June 19, 20164 Dave Ramsey recently wrote an article entitled High-Performance Achievement and it's about his training to run of a marathon. In this article, we're going to look at how you can use that knowledge to help you become the best teacher in the world. In Seth Godin's latest book, "The Dip" (which I'm going to read this summer), he talks about being the best in the world. That term is defined basically as the best in your sphere of influence at doing what you do. My goal as a band director is to be the best band director in my school district. Then my goal is to have the best band at whatever competition we go to. Then my goal is to have
4 Ways To Effectively Deal With Important People Personal by Joel Wagner - April 22, 2007March 13, 20144 If work just isn't seeming to work out for you, maybe you are focusing your attention in the wrong place. Here is a list of the people in the educational world of your school who should get the most attention. Students Parents Secretaries Assistant Principal(s) Principal Counselors Other Teachers In Your Department Custodians The Rest Of The Teachers So how do we do this? Here are four areas that I have had success focusing on. Develop basic social skills Much of what I have learned about social interaction was learned when I was 21 years old and read How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Trent from The Simple Dollar covers 9 social skills to practice here. These are priceless and really should be common sense. But as Dave Ramsey points