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
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
10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Quiet? Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - June 7, 2012June 16, 20162 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 Quiet? 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
5 Classroom Management Skills Every Teacher Must Have Classroom Management by Carrie Oakley - November 24, 2010August 9, 201625 It’s one of the most underrated professions in the world – most people assume that you don’t need any special skills to be a teacher, yet few realize that it takes a great deal of effort and ability to handle a classroom full of students. You not only have to be thoroughly knowledgeable in the subject you’re handling, you also need to know how to control a class and maintain discipline and order in it. In short, to be a good teacher, you also need the following classroom management skills. 5 classroom management skills every teacher must have 1. Authority Some teachers command authority through the way they look – their very appearance makes students give them the respect they deserve. Others invite sniggers and giggles because they look
How Do We Show Our Students That We Love Them? Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - November 8, 2009May 30, 20160 When I was struggling to find hope early in my career as a teacher, I came across a few pieces of advice given by King Solomon from the Proverbs: He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly. — Proverbs 13:24 This one jumped out at me as I realized I overlooked way too much misbehavior. I came to understand that by continually letting the students misbehave because I wanted them to like me was actually counter-productive and instead it made them respect me less. More than that, it showed me that whereas I thought I was being loving, I was actually being hateful. That helped me a whole lot as it set me on a
Happy Blog-iversary to Angela Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - August 31, 2009June 30, 20101 If you haven't visited Angela Maiers' blog before, you're missing out. Her blog turned two years old today. She has been blogging for almost as long as I have, and was one of the early commenters on my site who really inspired me to continue pressing on. One of the things I most respect about Angela is her obvious patience with children and her desire for them to be educated as well as they possibly can be. Thanks for everything you are doing for 21st Century Educators, Angela!
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
Be Respectful (Total Teacher Transformation Day 11) Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - May 14, 2009June 30, 20100 This is an article in the Total Teacher Transformation series. Click here for a complete table of contents. As we're going through the transformation, one of the key things to remember is that you must remain respectful to your students. As I've written before, classroom control is essential. Some of us have a naturally abrasive personality, and so when we begin to re-assume control, politeness tends to go out the window. Don't take things personally The thing to remember is that even our worst behaved students actually have a genuine reason for doing the things that they are doing. Most misbehaviors are not personal attacks. They are simply misbehaviors for the sake of themselves. One of my mentors once told me a
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
Life Lesson 4: Choose Your Battles General by Joel Wagner - October 14, 2008July 1, 20104 Everybody loves being right. Everybody loves to win an argument. What if we change our mindset completely? What if we aim not to win outright, but to win by letting the other person win? There are some situations where winning is vital. And there are far more situations where winning an argument will net no real benefit. These are the situations when it is okay to lose. In fact, losing may be the biggest victory of all. How do we choose? Dr. Laura Schlessinger often uses these three statements to evaluate if a battle is necessary: Is it immoral? Is it illegal? Is it fattening? If the answer to all three questions is "no," then it may do
Transforming A Tense Relationship Where There Is Low Respect Inspiration by Joel Wagner - November 2, 2007July 5, 20104 Recently, a reader wrote to me saying: I am currently midway through student teaching and am struggling with classroom management (surprise!). I am not really getting any feedback from my cooperating teacher, other than "use short, quick redirects" and "your emotions are too transparent to students". I worked in business for 18 years prior to this experience and I'm just struggling with how to try and turn a tense situation around. I have read through the articles posted on this site and they have given me some good ideas to work with. Here is my question: What can you do to turn around a tense relationship with students who do not regard you as "the
Are You Still Out Of Control In Your Classroom? [VIDEO] Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - September 9, 2007June 16, 20162 I know some people who seem to have been born with an innate ability to get others to do things they really don't want to do. Those people, when asked how to do that, generally don't have an explanation. For them it is a natural skill. This isn't the case with most people. It is definitely not the case with me. I admit, it was never this bad for me, but it was bad. I had students talking back. I had students getting out of their seats. I had students writing notes. I'm sure if it were now, I would have had students sending texts throughout the class.I had to learn how to keep them quiet and get them to do
How Do I Keep My Students Away From Me? (4 Tips To Establish Boundaries) Personal by Joel Wagner - June 11, 2007May 29, 20161 This article is part 5 of the series Questions That Will Save Your Career. Please read the other articles in the series. 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 Do I Keep My Students Quiet? 10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Engaged? 10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Interested? 10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Learning? 10 Years of Teaching: