5 Signs You’d Be A Great Teacher Classroom Management New Teachers by Jason Phillips - July 2, 20190 Are you thinking about becoming a teacher? Teachers are one of the most important parts of our workforce as they train our future leaders. Their care, compassion, and educational training make them one of the most important people in schools and colleges. As a teacher, you will interact with children and students on a daily basis - the words you tell them will be ingrained in them long after your lecture ends. Becoming a teacher means taking up a lot of responsibility, but if you have fun while you’re doing it- it will never feel like a burden! If you are thinking about the job prospects and salary, then being a teacher is one of the safest professions to get into.
How Teaching Technology is the wave of the future? Blogging & Technology New Teachers by Jason Phillips - February 20, 20183 Education is definitely the most vital function in our general public today, yet it is still not properly understood, in spite of staggering investment levels from financial bodies and governments. For what reason do students keep on attending a classroom or embarking on an online course? How would we direct students to the correct information and help them understand it? We may have an exact notion and some hunches, yet despite everything, we do not have any central knowledge. That is really frustrating. With the ascent of the web, it appeared as though education was on the cusp of an entire insurrection. Today, however, you would be pardoned for not seeing quite a bit of a distinction between the way we
SYWTT on Pinterest Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - August 21, 2016August 21, 20161 I have heard about Pinterest for years but never got into it. I don't need new recipes or DIY projects to not do, so why even bother? Well, I was wrong.As I have been getting back into blogging in recent months, I've begun to see some of the value in Pinterest. As I explore it, I see a lot more value. So much so that I have created a few boards that I regularly update and you may find helpful. If you've never used Pinterest, you can check the boards out below without even going to the dreaded site. You'll be glad you did. They are: New Teacher Resources Teaching Resources Music Ed Links Blogging Resources
10 Mistakes New Teachers Make (And How To Avoid Them) New Teachers by Joel Wagner - August 8, 2016February 6, 202025 If you're anything like me, you gained a great deal of academic knowledge about your content area in college and very little actual knowledge about getting students to stay quiet long enough to learn from your abundant knowledge base. Over the years, I have observed young teachers enter the profession and make many of the same mistakes. I have compiled a list of 10 mistakes new teachers make. Nobody makes all of the mistakes, but invariably we all go through a few of them within our first few years of teaching. Mistake 1: Many new teachers try to be "the cool teacher" and end up being "the pushover" I get it. We all want to be liked by our students. The mistake many teachers make is that they
Level Up Your Teaching: Engaging Students Through The Power Of Classroom Games General by David Reeves - August 5, 2016August 4, 20162 Learning only happens when students are engaged, but unfortunately, teachers continue to struggle with engagement, especially when children enter middle school. One way to keep kids engaged and improve student retention is through classroom games. Games — in the classroom and outdoors — that incorporate an educational component get kids excited about learning, and are a great tool in the arsenal of teachers of any grade level, but especially when students are nearing or in middle school. Here are some tips to help make your classroom games effective. Take Advice From Game Designers As a teacher, you know that classroom time is valuable. You don't want to fill it with anything that is wasteful, so are games worthwhile? Games are effective at motivating,
July 2016 On SYWTT Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - August 1, 20160 July 2016 was a great month as I continue getting back into the blogging groove of things. Below are some highlights. I discovered Pinterest and began to see that many of the articles on my site don't look so great on there. As a result, I began making images to go along with my new articles. Additionally, I have begun going back through the archives to create images for some of the more popular older articles. As time progresses, I will get to more and more of them. Along with that, I continue going back and adjusting formatting of old articles, as web standards have changed quite a bit since 2007. I have also started work on curating some of the articles by creating resource
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
Curiosity May Kill Cats, But Conformity Kills Creativity General by Joel Wagner - July 9, 2016July 10, 20160 In the recent blog post 10 Habits of People Who Always Have Great Ideas, Ideapod author Lachlan Brown highlights 10 characteristics of creative people. I encourage you to go read the article. As I was reading through the list, I was struck by two thoughts: "Hey, those are all habits I cultivate in my life!" and "Wow, wouldn't it be great to have students like that in my class?" This article explores how I nurture creativity in my life as well as in my students.. How do I cultivate these habits in my life? Daydreaming I am constantly considering new ideas and looking for new sources of inspiration. Sources of inspiration include listening to a podcast (my current favorites are Revisionist History and DCI's Fieldpass), reading a book (I'm
Finding A Teaching Job General by Joel Wagner - July 6, 2016July 10, 20160 Do you ever feel alone in your quest to become a teacher? Well, the truth is that finding a teaching job can be lonely, but it is not a unique experience. Over the next few weeks, I will be curating Resource Posts that will serve as a springboard for digging deeper into specific topics that have been covered on this blog. Since we are at the beginning of July and many teachers are searching for their first job or for greener pastures, the first stop is a collection of resources on finding a teaching job. General Tips Help: Should I Become A Teacher? Help A New Student Teacher Out With Resources 10 Things I Wish Someone Had Explained Before My First Teaching Job Five Ways
60 Very Practical Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Started Teaching General by Joel Wagner - June 7, 2016June 15, 20162 While I've had my ups and downs over the years as a teacher, my first two years were extremely challenging. Many of these pitfalls were avoidable. If I were going into a middle school band class as a first year teacher today, knowing what I know now, I would approach things differently. Here is an unsorted list that I have brainstormed of things I would like to have known before the first day of school. Begin class on time, every time Even though attendance is computerized, come up with a simple written system of checking role and do it consistently Run through each class period in your mind and take notes of questions you have; address those before the first day The more procedures
5 Reasons I Loved Teaching Middle School General by Joel Wagner - February 9, 2014July 3, 20161 This past summer was a whirlwind tour for me and someday I may share a bit about the amazing experiences I had traveling by myself across the country (including three nights stranded in airports, a fourth of July parade in a small town outside of Boston, following my beloved Texas Rangers to Saint Louis, New York, and Baltimore, a ride to the airport from Shelly Terrell, and an amazing time in some of this country's finest cities). But now is not the time for this. Now is the time to address the biggest change in my educational life. After 11 years of fighting in the trenches, I have finally moved on to the major leagues. I moved on from my previous
10 Lessons I Have learned In 10 Years of Teaching Inspiration by Joel Wagner - June 6, 2012July 25, 20165 At the conclusion of 10 years of teaching, I started to reminisce about what I have learned. This article summarizes 10 lessons I have learned in 10 years of teaching. After having successfully completed my tenth year as a professional educator, I have come to realize that a lot of what I used to think worked didn't really work...at least not long-term. While some things may be effective in the immediate future, they are not sustainable down the road, and sometimes even backfire if used to often and too early. 1. Love your job and your students No matter how hard you try to pretend you love your job, if you don't, the kids will see right through you. Students feed off of the energy that
Benefits of Teaching English Abroad General by Sanjay Bojan - April 12, 2011July 3, 20161 Teaching is an art, a skill and a challenge that can sometimes be more difficult than aiming in archery. In this article we discuss on the various benefits of teaching English in a foreign country. A lot of teachers prefer working abroad for different reasons. Some common reasons behind teaching abroad are learning the new culture and the language, gaining professional success, earning and a lot of other opportunities as well. Many teachers who prefer to go abroad are English teachers as the language (English) commands a very high respect demand all over the world. In countries where English education is compulsory, one expects teachers to have advanced degrees and to be a native English speaker. The Political Effect on the language A lot of non-English-speaking countries that want to maintain
5 Killer Classroom Management Tips Classroom Management by Brett Freeman - April 10, 2011July 9, 20162 This article discusses some simple classroom management tips that teachers can immediately implement in their day-to-day teaching. Inspiring students to be motivated and engaged in the learning process is an essential part of managing a classroom. Teaching students while calmly and effectively managing disruptive behavior is a vital skill for every educator. Experimenting with new behavior management methods can help determine what works best for you and your students. Their unique personalities and challenges make every class different; a technique that proves effective for one student may not work well for her classmates. Here are five tips you can try in your classroom. The more tools you have in your toolbox, the more effective you’ll be at managing a variety of classroom behaviors. 1.
Seven Deadly Sins of Veteran Teachers General by Joel Wagner - February 10, 2010June 30, 20100 So here's the situation: You've been teaching for quite a while. You've pretty much gotten a handle on classroom management, paperwork, classroom rules, and any number of the other day-to-day tasks we encounter. But how many of these teaching vices do you struggle with? I know I'm not guiltless in these areas. In fact, I've had run-ins with most of these. Not all of them, of course. Luxuria (extravagance or lust) While most people think of lust in a sexual kind of way, in the original context, it essentially meant excessive love of others. Even so, some teachers take this one quite literally and end up losing their jobs over abusive relationships with their students. Gula (gluttony)Gluttony is typically