10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My School Administration Happy?

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, … Read more

Reader Appreciation 2008: Clix

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? … Read more

If You Don’t Fill Your Schedule, Someone Else Will

I have gotten 4 comments in the last 24 hours from people telling me about a time in their life (past or present) where they were so focused on school that it completely stressed them out. A big part of that comes from the fact that so many of us have a hard time saying, … Read more

Less Stress: Reduce Phone Calls

I got an email from one of our secretaries yesterday asking me to call one of the other administrative assistants. The message left no indication of why I should call her. I have not yet called her and I don’t intend to do so. I have a problem with phone calls. In a world where … Read more

How Do I Keep My School Administration Happy? (Or At Least How Do I Keep Them At Bay)

This article is part 6 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 … Read more

4 Ways To Effectively Deal With Important People

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 … Read more

4 Tip’s For Being Respected

An Alarming Trend One of the things that I have come to realize is that, by and large, educators have a poor grasp of grammar and spelling. Maybe this is isolated to the United States, but part of me fears that is not the case. Since nearly all of my adult life has been spent … Read more