New Teacher Resources New Teachers by Joel Wagner - August 1, 2016August 6, 20177 So you got that elusive first teaching job. Congratulations. If you experience is anything like mine has been, you now get to spend a few days learning district policies, and then get thrown into the classroom with minimal further instructions. Over the last decade or so, I have been very interested in helping new teachers navigate the difficulties of their first few years, and have written extensively on the topic. This Resource Post contains links to these articles. The Foundation 10 Mistakes New Teachers Make (And How To Avoid Them) 10 Things To Do Before The First Day Of School 10 Things I Wish Someone Had Explained Before My First Teaching Job 10 Things A First Year Teacher Should Do Learning New
The Art of Encouragement Inspiration by Joel Wagner - June 30, 2016July 10, 20160 By far one of the most successful early posts on this blog was 6 Motivation Techniques. I wrote it in March of 2007, as I was approaching the end of my fifth year of teaching. Now more than nine years later, I realize I was onto some good ideas, but I was off base. In this article, we'll look at the missing piece that would have helped me so much in those early years of teaching: The Art of Encouragement Without motivation, your class is just another block of time that the students have to suffer through. With motivation, you hear things like “hi, favorite teacher!â€Â and “I love this class!†As a teacher, those are the kinds of things that we
From Burnout Into Ignited Passion: How Blogging, Information Overload, and Running Made Me A Better Teacher Inspiration by Joel Wagner - May 28, 2013July 6, 20161 I don't care if it's your teaching job or your personal habits or your social life or what it is, we all face burnout at one time or another. Or another or another or another. At times, I can feel like we are in a dark tunnel with no escape and we don't have the energy to escape. Ummm, not that I have ever experienced that, of course. ANYWAY, you may or may not be struggling with this now. I would guess at this point in the school year, none of us in the United States are wanting to ever teach another school year. It happens. So I present to you an autobiographical short story that addresses this concept. Once upon a
10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Interested? Inspiration by Joel Wagner - June 9, 2012June 16, 20160 Five years ago, I wrote a series of seven articles called “Questions That Will Save Your Career†that still remain among the most visited articles on this site. When I wrote those, I had successfully completed my 5th year in education. This summer, after 10 years, I am revisiting some of these older concepts. Today, I revisit How Do I Keep My Students Interested? How Do I Keep My Students Quiet? How Do I Keep My Students Engaged? How Do I Keep My Students Interested? How Do I Keep My Students Learning? How Do I Keep My Students Away From Me? How Do I Keep My School Administration Happy? How Do I Keep My Sanity? 10 Years of Teaching: How
It’s Not Our Beliefs That Transfer…It’s Our Passion Inspiration by Joel Wagner - November 25, 2010June 16, 20160 A friend recently mailed me a copy of the book The Line and the Dot: Alternative thoughts on vision by Paul Gibbs. The book intrigued me because there is very little information on the outside of the book and I trust my friend's recommendation. So I began reading a little bit. Tonight I came across the following excerpt: During my time as a school pupil, I had learned a valuable lesson. In the religious education I'd received, I had two different teachers. They both taught me about Christianity, but one turned me off of God, and one turned me on to God. The first taught the program. The second taught passion. The head of PSE agreed and gave me opportunities to teach
Early Childhood Education: What Makes a Great Teacher General by Courtney Bishop - September 27, 2010June 25, 20164 This guest article by Courtney Bishop is a lover of all things creative. She likes to write, and has an obsession with crossword puzzles. She's recently started blogging, and you can follow her on Twitter @cbishopBG. There are many indisputable opinions from people who feel that great teachers are born, not made. Teaching is certainly something that most anyone can do; but teaching effectively and creating a thirst for knowledge in students is undoubtedly a gift that few people possess. Early childhood education is a breeding ground for sparking enthusiasm and creativity in the minds of youngsters. The teacher is likely the one who initially exposes the child to new concepts and makes ideas clearer and brighter to their young minds. This is
How To Make This Year The Best of Your Career New Teachers by Atticus Parker - August 4, 2010August 31, 20104 This guest post was written by Atticus from www.atticusparker.com/education I was chuffed earlier this month when Joel asked me to write guest post for his edublog SYWTT. I was however also nervous. Joel has created an enviable web presence with SYWTT through an obvious passion for teaching, hard work and obvious dedication. I didn’t want to let him down. The topic he suggested was 'How To Make This Year The Best of Your Career'. Wow, I thought. A topic like that calls for an action plan. A list. So I have resorted to an old favourite of blog readers - the list article. Many blog articles today feature a list. Do Lists.
5 New Edublogs To Keep On Your Radar Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - June 24, 2010May 29, 20169
Farewell To Teaching: An Ode To dy/dan Why Teachers Quit by Joel Wagner - June 12, 2009June 30, 20100 Many of my readers have left comments or sent emails asking me if I have more information about transitioning from teaching to another field. Unfortunately the answer for them is simply that I don't. But I think I can finally refer you somewhere that should help out. If you stick with teaching (which is sometrhing I highly encourage you to do), you can at least perhaps see what it's like vicariously. I was somewhat confused this morning when I opened up Twitter and started reading some disconcerting comments to @ddmeyer referring to him leaving teaching. I tracked back, and found it. So that's that. This year was far and away the most fun I've had in a classroom, which definitely
Be Respectable (Total Teacher Transformation Day 12) Inspiration by Joel Wagner - May 15, 2009June 30, 20103 This is an article in the Total Teacher Transformation series. Click here for a complete table of contents. As discussed last time, part of gaining respect from students comes from being respectful. The second element of earning the respect of your students (and their parents), comes from being respectable. No amount of courtesy to your students can overcome a disrespectable personality! So what are some character traits we should be modeling? Competence - Knowing your content area is vital. If you are a band director, you need to have some sort of clue how to play an instrument. If you are an English teacher, you ought to be reading regularly. If you are a history teacher, you should have some sort of historical
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
Nobody Works Harder Than Teachers! You Sure About That? Personal by Joel Wagner - July 13, 2008August 5, 201629 I recently wrote the most-commented article on this site to date about the number of hours teachers work and comparing those to standard business world people. As I write this one, I’m sure it will stir up just as many responses, though many of them will surely be in disagreement with me. Just keep reading, and tell me where I’m wrong at the end! One of the comments to that article said something to the effect that “nobody works harder than teachers do!†While I agree with the sentiment, I think it’s possible for our own passion to cloud our word choice at times. Comments continue coming in about that article, and I saw an email right before I went to be last
The Blog Revolution: Day 4 – Develop Your Writing Voice Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - May 8, 2008July 2, 20101 As we continue the Blog Revolution Project, we come to day four of our focus on writing. Today's article will focus on crafting your own personal style, develop your writing voice. Newer bloggers may have a struggle with figuring out exactly what approach they want to take with their blog. Think of your writing voice as your brand name. Lea Schizas has written some on this topic at Writing with Passion and Developing Your Voice and Brand Some common questions may include: How do I want to attack each post? What kind of a tone should I assume? What kind of audience should I expect? These are all normal. Let's look at these three questions a little bit
Top 5 (Plus 14) Character Traits Of Superior Teachers Reader Appreciation by Joel Wagner - November 29, 2007July 28, 201610 In November of 2007, I had Reader Apprection Month where I interviewed some of my readers, most of whom were fellow bloggers. Through the course of that month, I picked up a number of responses to the question "What Makes A Superior Teacher?" This article aggregates them and looks at the top answers. I'd guess if you're doing the top 5, you are well on your way to being great. As we come to the conclusion of Reader Appreciation Month, I want to summarize some of the things that we have learned. Today, I'll focus on some of the character traits of people who were indicated by my readers as their favorite teachers. Some of the character traits were mentioned by multiple
Reader Appreciation: Joel Reader Appreciation by Joel Wagner - November 26, 2007May 29, 20161 With all of the great responses I have read with the Reader Appreciation Month, I decided to go ahead and fill out the survey as well. Name: Joel Location: The border of Texas and Mexico Occupation: Middle School Band Director Blog: So You Want To Teach? Tell me some of your favorite things about your job Inspiring children. Spreading my passion for music, life, and learning. Watching the students grow year after year. Recruiting kids into my program. Being creative with the music. Transforming students from knowing nothing about how to play an instrument to being able to perform complicated (for them) music by the end of the year. Demonstrating the value of long-range planning to achieve crazy cool results. Guiding students to success, both individually