This is the fourth in a series of articles entitled 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers. What are some of the personal habits that are important to me? Personal Procedures What are some of the personal habits that are important to me? As I’m sitting here in the middle of the summer writing this, I … Read more
This is the second in a series of articles entitled 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers. Classroom Procedures The procedures that you lay out in the classroom are the most outwardly evident procedures that you have in place. For this reason, they are key elements of your overall classroom management plan. Much of the procedures … Read more
I know that some school districts pay their teachers for 10 months and then don’t pay them throughout the summer. As far as I know, every district in Texas pays throughout the year. The district where I presently teach pays me twice a month, so I get 24 paychecks a year. To my knowledge, most … Read more
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 … Read more
This article features links to other articles in a series called “Questions That Will Save Your Career.” These are all considerations that I have made as a teacher that helped me stick to it and survive in the business when I was first starting out. As I have mentioned before, my priorities as a first year teacher were a … Read more
As we begin the summer vacation, I am looking back on what went really well this year, what didn’t work so well, and what needs to change for next year. Below are some of the changes that I intend to implement next year: Create a peaceful work environmentI have already changed the office setting in … Read more
As we begin the summer vacation, I am looking back on what went really well this year, what didn’t work so well, and what needs to change for next year. Below are some of the positives about this year: Having a plan before the year beganEven before the school year began, I had a pretty … Read more
As the school year comes to a close, and before the summer gets into full swing, I am reviewing the 2006-2007 school year in my mind. This review is broken into three articles What Worked Well What Didn’t Work Well What To Change Next Year At the end of July, I will revisit these and … Read more
Most of the band staff went to lunch today. We spent about an hour and a half at a pizza buffet, mostly talking and not eating pizza. Collaboration is a good thing, if done correctly. Here are some key elements that I observe when I work with colleagues: Have fun Relax Focus on positives Don’t … Read more
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 … Read more