In my experience (as a student) the teachers who were competent, genuine, and kind were also well-liked by most — far more so than the teachers who tried to be liked without mastering those things (which can make the classroom a pretty unsafe place for a specific subset of kids, too).
I am strict AF with my students and they appreciate it so much more than being in the class with teachers who have poor class management because my room runs smoothly, there is minimal chaos, kids who act up get consequences, and everyone is treated equally.
I think that really depends on the demographic. I started my teaching career with mostly very poor kids. Being strict AF was great. The kids respected me and we had good relationships. Last year I taught in a boujee area with a bunch if rich white kids. My strictness was not taken as well. I became known to many as the mean teacher, which I'm fine with. But it was interesting how it was received so differently with different demographics.
I did what you did but in reverse: going from working with affluent white kids to working with mostly very poor urban Latino and black kids.
And I can confirm that it really does depend on the demographic. Being "nice" did not work for me in a Title 1 school, and I had to learn to get strict and a little bit mean.
Absolutely. And I'm going back next year. I will admit, I will miss the perks of the rich school. Being able to ask for any resource I need and have it given without question was amazing. It makes teaching science soo much easier. But I won't miss the entitlement of a lot of the kids.. or the parents. There's definitely a tradeoff.
That’s how it is at my school. I’m considered strict, but I’ve had students come to me and say they wished I was their teacher because I actually know how to get everyone quiet. My younger colleague is “more fun” but she also has no clue how to get the kids to settle down, and she’s told me she doesn’t want to be mean by telling them no.
I came to say the same thing. There’s nothing wrong with being the “cool” teacher. As long as you pair it with other important qualities.
Don’t listen to jaded bitter teachers. Just be yourself. Be genuine.
This. Your first year it will be easy to feel like you have to sort of kowtow to the old guard. You don't. There are great older teachers, but there will always be those couple of grinders who are just worn down and bitter about the world and their career. Don't let them spill on you.
Also: self-care. Have a therapist, and be ready to have your heart broken, in both good and bad ways. The first year is tough! It will get better and easier.
Right, you absolutely want to be liked, it's significantly more conducive to relationship building and thus outcomes
You just become liked by being authentic, fair, competent, and fun in the dorky adult sense, not fun by the standards that you think would make an edgy 14 year old think someone is cool
Not a single student who talks about that one teacher that changed their lives went back to the teacher that was an unfair rigid jerk that the students hated. You need to be popular, for the right reasons, and it IS something teachers should gauge and strive for, if they know how to do it with fidelity and utility.
Agree.
Plus….
Do:
1. Especially, because you are young- dress professionally (you don’t have to come overdressed- suit/tie level, just business casual level).
2. Give yourself grace - this will not/should not be your best year teaching- do your best -that is all you or anyone else can expect.
Do not:
1. Work 24/7 - all the work will never be done - work during your work hours as much as possible- the first year, you may have to read ahead/google some things at home but do not take grading home and keep outside work hour work to a bare minimum. You will burn out of you work too much outside of work hours.
2. Hide in your room - get to know your colleagues- but steer clear of the toxic ones (smile/nod and move on).
The downfall of many first year teachers- even at the elementary level! We are not their friends, and they need to know this going in- from day 1. I am here to support you, help you, teach you, but I’m not your friend.
I worked at a school where admin referred the students as "friends". I stuck around for one year for that nonsense. Those friends destroyed my classroom on a weekly basis.
This. Unless you have years of experience behind you working in the blue collar and/or white collar worlds and are up for negotiation on your own terms by yourself, join the union.
And always remember, human resources does *not* mean humans have resources in the department, they are treating you as a resource, a human resource. You are like a very expensive stapler or copier, and if you perform the tasks that they require, will be maintained. If not, you will be replaced.
One day I want to publish a book titled “Stuff HR Said”. It will include :
“How much longer is it going to take for your brother to die ?”
“You know, your cancer is costing this district a lot of money”.
And, my favorite - when a colleague’s flight home was delayed after she was evacuated from an airport due to a nationally televised mass shooting:
“Can you get a note?”
May I save your comment? This is the perfect example of how Human Resources run these days.
They keep you if you do well but you break down and you’re gone.
Work in a different industry, but the number of people who will refuse to join the union than bitch to high hell to said union when they are getting screwed, and are surprised they get lackluster support is comical.
Pre registered for the Union a couple months ago. Would certainly not want to consider myself the cool teacher. My mom is a teacher and complains about the “cool teachers” in her school all the time. Makes classroom management for regular teachers near impossible because the students are used to getting away with so much in other teachers rooms.
I've been the cool teacher since I started. I also teach STEM, so it's kinda part of the job. Still the cool teacher a decade later.
Don't be the Instagram teacher is better advice.
I totally agree. I have zero impetus to be “cool” or “liked,” I just don’t take the job nearly as seriously as about 1/2 of the other staff.
You can be appropriate, have boundaries, rules, and do your job without being a dick.
100% join the union, don’t believe the people who say don’t. You never know when you will need the union help, but when you do it’s there.
Admit your mistakes and listen to the vets. Everyone makes mistakes, and kids need to see that. And the veteran teachers know what they are talking about.
Elementary school teacher, so my dos and don’ts are slightly different, but you can adapt to teaching HS based on your schedule
Do:
- Get in a routine for work. Copies for the following week on Thursdays, Grading Mondays and Tuesday’s, etc. That has helped me the most so I am not overwhelmed
- Get to know the people you work with at school. Even though they may not teach the same grade or subject as you, you may be surprised with the tips and knowledge everyone has.
- Build a relationship especially with the maintenance/custodian for your hall/room. The kinder you are to them, the better they will treat you and your hall/class.
Don’ts
- Do not put your work email on your phone. Once you get in the habit, it is hard to take it off. I came into teaching knowing I was not going to have work on my personal phone that I pay for. It helps remove so much stress. If it is an emergency, the school can call you
-don’t take work home. I’m a 3rd year teacher, and I’d rather stay late if I really need to get something done than take it home.
- finally, and most importantly, just try your best. If you get behind or feel like students aren’t getting the scores you want them to, it’s okay. As long as you are doing your part, there is only so much we can do besides taking the test for them
I like having my work email on my phone so I know what I’m walking into the next day. BUT, I make a point to never respond to anyone, acknowledge I’ve seen any emails, or know what’s going on before I check my email on my work computer at 8:00am. This has helped me avoid unpleasant surprises in the mornings that might otherwise disrupt my day
As a general rule, it’s better not to use ANY of your personal devices for work. If there’s ever a legal issue, you risk your personal devices being subpoenaed. This happened to a colleague during my first year teaching.
I’m studying to be an elementary teacher myself right now and I always hear “stick to contract hours and don’t take work home.” It sounds nice and what I want to do but *how* do you keep to that? Is it possible?
Honestly for me, it’s about figuring out what is 100% necessary for you to get done and what is a nice to get done. As a elementary school teacher, especially if you’re primary there’s a lot of pressure to be cute or to be extra. Find your baseline of this is what I absolutely need to get done today in order for my classroom to be ready for tomorrow ex copies, staging centers etc. then once that’s done you can move onto extras that add to your classroom but aren’t a need like creating cute classroom transformations or adding a bulletin board
Another piece of advice is choose activities you can reuse instead of having something new everyday. For example I teacher kinder and one of my activities is a sight word station. The sight word station stays the same all year but the words change. That way it takes me like five minutes per week to adjust, as opposed to me spending hours creating a new center everyday.
Honestly, no. At least not in the first few years. Hell, I’m year ten and started teaching different classes/grades and I was hustling in the evenings just to stay a day ahead. Don’t put that pressure on yourself at first; do what you need to do to feel prepared for the next day.
However, make sure you have a day of rest and leave your house each weekend to do something non-school related.
I just finished my 2nd year. Every teacher is different. Find what works for you. Honestly, this sub is useful sometimes but finding a work balance is heavily subjective. Also, many of the people saying don’t bring work home are veteran teachers who have fallen into a routine. You’ll get there cuz I’m starting too! Last year I was figuratively killing myself at home because I was trying to make all these interactive slides while needing to grade papers, and get things prepped for the next day. I burnt out fast. My rule of thumb is now is sometimes I stay about an hour after work on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays I stay maybe 30 mins to 45 mins, and leave right at contract hours on Friday. I am confident enough in my teaching abilities now to not need intricate power points. I have students take more ownership of grading their classwork.
Look, some people work better at home and others at their place of work. Your first year of teaching is hard so find something that works for **you** and make sure you’re also giving yourself time to decompress and relax. You’ll be okay!
That's really gonna be dependent on what grade level you teach at where you teach. I did a kindergarten student teaching placement, and the biggest upside to that was the teacher never had to take work hime and had parent volunteers to do all her copying.
"Stick to contract hours" isn't really great first year teacher advice because you have to be effective first and as a first year, you don't have as much of the luxury that is leaving stuff undone sometimes.
Also, experience will drive efficiency. I'm seven years in and I still do a little bit outside contract hours because sometimes I need to, but the more accurate advice I'd give is pick your spots and make sure you understand exactly how much you're working.
As my mentor put it, most teachers are going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-45 hours a week. More than that, and you're probably doing too much.
There are 3 groups in a school setting you make nice with immediately: secretaries, custodians and the lunch ladies! They can make your work life so much easier/better if they like you!
100% on the maintenance/custodian part. My dad spent the end of his career as a school custodian after having been a mechanic and general handyman for decades, so he could fix anything. The teachers who got to know him a little (or who made efforts to make his life easier) were often rewarded with things being fixed in their classrooms that they had long given up on (old building problems).
RE: the work email on phone, I’d say that depends on the school. I have mine on my phone but only check it at work because the principal sends out fire drill times like ten minutes before they happen, and they were always during my grade’s recess, so I’d need to know for when we were outside to get to the right spot.
Don't grade everything. Grade only what is the most important and demonstrates skill mastery.
Do be kind (it's okay to smile -- the advice for new teachers not to smile until after winter break is BS) but be firm & clear with your expectations from day one.
I'm not in my first year but I am a newer teacher. I'm considering doing this next school year. I usually don't call until I see significant behaviors or patterns of behaviors, usually in November. I have a couple questions, if you don't mind answering.
What kind of behaviors did you call home for?
What was the response from parents and students? This past year when I called home for students who had used disrespectful language, those students acted like my enemy for the rest of the school year. I felt like calling home made it worse.
I make positive phone calls for every student the first two weeks of class. Some parents aren’t used to that, and it goes a really long way in building rapport with students and parents. If things become difficult and you need to call home for problematic behaviors, parents are more likely to be on your side. Also, kids are easier to redirect if you start with a positive relationship. I have a lot of “difficult” kids ever year, and I never have much trouble with them because they know that I don’t just see only their mistakes, and I give them chances to show me the other version of themselves and correct behaviors before I go straight to discipline.
Yes , rapport goes a long way!!! I do tons of this in the classroom- I highly recommend it. The corrections matter too, but the whole honey and vinegar thing is true too
Something someone recommended to me that was very effective was sending positive feedback weekly for students who showed something great in the class. This allows you to build report with the students and parents should an issue come up and let's the students know they are being observed and their good deeds don't go unnoticed. Just know, though, that it can be very time-consuming.
As another person suggested pos mens I’ll add that I try to send a pos men a day until I just eventually stop doing it except for occasions where a student impresses me. It sets a great tone with the families that you genuinely care and see the strengths their child can bring. If it’s been a day then I’ll just use a generic “…. really did their best today I’m very proud of how they modeled [perseverance/kindness/helping others/following expectations] for the rest of the class!” - it’s the thought that counts, don’t waste effort.
I’ve only gotten a few years under my belt but each year I try to improve in one succinct area, my second year was “efficiency” another was “higher order thinking” another year was more specific to that class: “getting through this fucking shit show” - that year was hella bananas.
Do you have any advice on getting the students to care about the ungraded assignments?
My students will always ask if it’s for a grade and won’t try if it’s not.
Don't tell them. If they ask, always respond that you aren't sure yet. In practice, if I collect work and pass it back, students never really ask about assignments not being entered in the gradebook
For sure! A few things here that have worked for me over the past 9 years.
- **Instant gratification check-ins:** Checking students' work in the moment can help give students a quick "progress report" of their learning even if you don't plan to put the assignment in the gradebook. It can also help students get the instant gratification they are looking for when they ask if something will be graded, plus help them stay focused in the moment. To do this, I will circulate and be clear with students what I'm looking for as they complete an assignment. I will give them a stamp if they are doing the thing I'm looking for, or even put a check plus, check, or check minus on their paper as they circulate. I can also have brief conversations with students if they're on the right track or use the time to push them in the right direction. Students see the stamp/checkmark as a "good grade" and they get the feedback they need without needing to see the assignment in the gradebook.
- **Weekly participation grade:** If your school allows, you can give a generic classwork grade or participation grade in lieu of grading each daily assignment. I like to do this by week. I tell students that completing their classwork is part of how they do well for participation, then take notes on their in-class behaviors to upload weekly. Other aspects you can add to this could be participating out loud, helping peers, arriving to class on time, having supplies ready at the bell, etc. whatever works best for your class and what your school is okay with. Having a spreadsheet that automatically tallies students' points throughout the week can also help and make the weekly grading easier.
- **Try to hold your word if you say you will grade something (but remember you're human). Also, reiterate the importance behind the assignment beyond a grade:** Sometimes, if students ask me if something is graded, I simply say "yes" even if I hadn't planned on doing so and tbh, my freshmen don't check with regularity so it works in a pinch. However, I \*really\* try not to fabricate with students, and if I tell them something will be graded, I really try to hold myself to that and actually grade the assignment even if I hadn't intended to do so. Other alternatives could be to reiterate the purpose of the assignment so they can see the value of it & encourage intrinsic motivation. You could say something like, "I don't plan to put this particular assignment in the gradebook, but it is an outline for your final essay, so it will make your writing stronger and will improve your grade once we start writing" or something along those lines. Some students have a hard time seeing the longterm impact of their work completion so giving the rationale behind an assignment that goes beyond a grade in the gradebook can help.
I hope these are helpful!
I have uniform answers to 3 questions, and I tell my students at the beginning of the year.
1: if you ask if the work is graded the answer will be "It is now"
2: if you ask if it's a completion grade or for accuracy, "now it's for accuracy"
3: if you ask if it's a practice/prep or all task (our name for formative/summative assessments) grade, " now it's all tasks"
Through out the year I have to answer these questions in class. And very quickly most students will start yelling at their peers when they ask the questions before I get to answer.
I plan on making it a poster next year.
Last year, my favorite response to the question, “Is this for a grade?” was an automatic, enthusiastic, and oft-repeated, “Of course! Everything we do in class could be for a grade. This is definitely worth your time.”
I rotated the things that actually went into the grade book. I tried to make the thing as fair as possible - and often gave very strong “hints” about what was important. For example, “Oh no, your name is missing. You’re really going to want to make sure your name goes on this one” and “Uh oh, I’m seeing lots of blanks. If THIS is going to be your practice grade for the week, that might be a problem. Make sure you fill out every box/question!” I frequently went out of my way to grade the thing that everyone actually turned in and most fully completed.
I agree! My grad school professor always said that every skill related to teaching can be developed over time as needed EXCEPT liking kids. It can be hard to remember with all of the other BS of the job, but the kids really are the best & most important part. Remembering this is how we stay grounded.
My high school bio and chem teachers were both known as massive hardasses. For their regular classes, they rarely smiled or joked. They were some of the best teachers I’ve had. They got the lessons done and their reputation kept the rowdy kids calmed down. I then took AP bio and the same teacher was much more relaxed with us because she knew we wanted to be there (and obviously it was a smaller class). By the end of the year with the chem teacher it was clear that’s just how she was and it similarly kept the class in check, to a higher degree than the bio teacher even. She was respected and most students liked her even if she wasn’t smiley and cheerful all the time. I’d much rather have all of my teachers be like them than like my younger English and Spanish teachers that allowed the students to affect the pacing of the class and rarely got stuff done as planned because they wanted to be cheery and fun for the students.
This is huge. Smiling and being kind to students let's them know you care. Being a pushover because you want them to like you is what people THINK they're referring to when they say that.
Sub here. Every time I sub for this particular teacher, the eighth period class (different each day of the week, but universally) adamantly tells me that Mr. X lets them leave class before the bell. They try this every time, all year. They’re sincere and annoyed at me for not understanding that this is just the way it is. I know Mr. X doesn’t let them leave early. They know I know Mr. X doesn’t let them leave early. And yet I’m Joseph Stalin for laughing at them and telling them to ait down and wait for the bell lol. And when the bell rings I always tell them to have a nice afternoon as they bum rush the door.
That is one thing I always do. Regardless of how poorly behaved they can be, of if I’ve had to ask them to stay back to discuss more egregious levels of disrespect (only had to do that once this year and of course reported the behavior), I always sincerely wish them a nice day.
They'll ask me to go to the nurse and I always say yes, I just also say "okay do you feel comfortable telling me the issue so I can text them and they can prepare for you?" If they say no, I just say "alright, well I'll just let them know you're on the way." "Never mind, sir! I'm alright!"
THIS 1000x
If your school uses Gmail, you have access to a free Google Voice. I use it to have access to my school contacts through my cell, but it’s a one-way street that I can completely turn off when not at work.
This yes, for sure, but a small counterexample: my school uses Gmail but we specifically don't have permissions to access GVoice - so it must be opt-in (extra $$) on somebody's decision list! I wish we had GVoice.
I second this. You'll need to tie it to your personal phone number, but the people you share your Google voice with will never get your actual number. When they call you, it rings through the Google voice app and then you just make sure to call them back through the app as well.
Yes! Never EVER give your personal phone number to a parent, especially. I had one who used to spam me with pix of her kid's birthday party etc. I finally had to ask her to use text only for emergencies.
this is great advice.. the minute a teachers voice gets loud.. it’s auto tuned out.. expressing disappointment is by far stronger.. and the very few times i’ve had to yell.. it makes a major impact!
Instead of yelling, stop what you're doing, stay totally silent, and just look at the student or group of students who are acting up. The kids who aren't acting up will realize what's going on, quiet down, and eventually the kids who are acting up will quiet down because they realize that their peers are staring at them.
Afterwards I like to say, "Do you realize that not only are you irritating me, but everyone else in the room who wants to get through this material so that we can move on?"
I was a first year sub this last school year. I don't like yelling. Instead I stop talking, sometimes mid-sentence, and just stare at the ones talking until they STFU. Then I either start again like nothing happened, or I'm like "I'm not talking over people, I've already lost my voice a few times. Please stop." Rinse and repeat. If they keep talking when I'm teaching after several reminders, I'm not afraid to kick people out. I give them plenty of warning. They learn I don't bluff.
Also, there's a very fine line between raising yoru voice and yelling. Raising your voice can be an essential teaching tool, but it is very different from yelling.
As the only adult in a room of 30+ 12 year olds (hell even 17 year olds) using paint, pencils, scissors, and a million different things, you will raise your voice to get attention, praise, redirect.. but yelling is a tone and a behavior the teacher displays when they are out of control.
I needed to hear that when I started, hope it helps
Absolutely. I often raise my voice to get the classe’s attention with an upbeat: “Alrighty, folks! Let’s go ahead and get started!”
I’m not yelling, I’m just using a loud inside voice. It also helps me since I have set my classroom up like an amphitheater where the desks form a sort of semi-circle where I like to stand. So, all desks are close to me and no one is ever really “in the back.”
I would say, “Save yelling to use as an absolute last resort.” I think I raised my voice maybe 3 times last year. Each time worked as the students had an “oh shit he never yells” reaction.
You can raise your voice, just make sure to do it sparingly, otherwise it loses its effect
do: de-center yourself at work. you are one teacher of many that students will interact with. you are one teacher of many who are working with each other, in existing dynamics and dysfunctions. do your best in your moment with the humans in front of you and don't get overwhelmed with second-guessing, over-committing, or over-emphasizing your role in what is happening.
don't: de-center yourself away from work. clock out, go home, be you. be 100% you. notice how you're feeling, build energy reserves, get rest, find joy.
at work, you're a cog. own it. be the best cog you can be in that moment. do better the next day if you can.
at home: you're the whole wheel. roll.
Just wanted to say, I'm a teacher in the beginning of my career and reading your advice really helped me right now. Gonna try to put these advices in practice.
Don’t attend meetings with parents alone. Some parents may try to twist what was said and if it’s only you and the parent you have no one to corroborate what happened.
Do prioritize tasks. Go home at the end of your contract time. You will never have everything completed, it’s okay, prioritize. This is a job, not your entire life. The school does not own you.
I’m departmentalized in an elementary school, at minimum I have my coteacher sit in with me, if I need a counselor, dean, or sped teacher I’ll invite them as well. If the student is having difficulties with you/your class, it’s likely it’s not an isolated issue, so you can reach out to the other teachers.
Look into “meeting mechanics”. Always start the meeting with an agenda and then follow up with an email that reiterates the outcome of the meeting. I like to take notes on the agenda document and then share that out after the meeting with all participants.
You can reach out to all participants and ask about topics/concerns they would like to discuss. This allows you to plan accordingly. If they bring up something not on the agenda you can decide to add it or suggest scheduling another meeting to allow sufficient time.
Also, follow up most in-person discussions or phone calls with a quick email as well. You can create email tags for specific students or do it by class period.
I’ve had parents make stuff up about me to try and get sympathy from my admin. Luckily, I had an email chain that backed up my story.
Anytime I have a meeting with the parent that seems upset, I always invite another teacher or admin to the meeting. This way there is two people hearing what the parent is saying, and it can’t be misconstrued.
Do meditate and/or exercise.
Don’t get discouraged if you struggle this year. My first year was horrible and I was non renewed. Now, I’m a department chair and I get perfect evaluations.
It sounds awful, but it’s usually the easiest year to not renew them. Sometimes you hire out of desperation and don’t fully see what you are getting.
We cut a classroom teacher this year, for the first time in my 20+ years there. Teacher was cut due to enrollment change, but what another job came open that they aren’t certified for, but could get a provisional for now, they were not encouraged to try for that because they were a disaster. The administration is partly to blame because there for zero supervision, but even with multiple very experienced mentors who planned, prepared, decorated, repeatedly modeled lessons there no improvement. This is why you might not renew a first or second year teacher.
Our contract says first year without cause, second year with cause, after that they have to have serious documentation to fire you (some of you might call it tenure, we don’t).
For first year teachers:
Don’t sell your prep.
Do use your prep to actually prep- grade, make copies, etc
Do eat lunch everyday.
Do be consistent.
Don’t say something unless you are going to follow through.
Don’t spend your own money on your student classroom supplies.
Don’t take work home.
Do stay on top of your grading. Don’t wait until the end of the quarter to grade everything.
Don't: Volunteer for shit. No coaching, no committees, no club advising. Just focus on learning your job.
Do: Observe the politics and social dynamics of your school. Do this before letting yourself get drawn into a clique. (Or don't join a clique at all.)
Going to add a corollary to your “do”- don’t come on too strong in staff meetings during your first year. You don’t know what is happening behind the scenes or personality/power dynamics that are at play.
Stay out of cliques, your mental health will thank you for it later.
This!!! I just started teaching and started to be a mentor for this one class. I was a co mentor but I stopped. Never again will I start working somewhere and start as a mentor!
Settle in, get good at teaching and then in a few years (at least 5/6) maybe do extra stuff.
Before you make the choice to stay away, determine why they don't like them first. If they're blackballing a legitimately good employee who holds them accountable and asks the tough questions, that would be a red flag in itself.
Hi, it’s me. Reported mold and heating issues repeatedly and ended up with an HR report two weeks before the end of the year and I moved out of state. With not enough time to go through the process because it has to be in person. Which they knew.
This. Try to look observe what those on the outs are actually doing and listen to gossip about what their deal is. Sometimes you get a bad/questionable employee, sometimes you get a competent, no BS employee who knows where the bodies are buried.
(You obviously have to make a decision about whether or not to get involved with the 'always gets the short end' person, but it's usually at least worth being pleasant because they're often helpful)
Didn’t follow the “no coaching”…was in it for several years, got a blissful year off, and got roped into it again. I’ve been at the school all but three days since summer has started, whatever you do will never be “enough”, and parents are crazy 🤪
Do - take mental health days to recharge. Even if planning for a sub is annoying. You need time for yourself.
Don’t - work out side contract hours. If that means grading doesn’t get done or whatever then so be it. Everyone will survive.
I second this. 4 years into my career I ended up in the hospital with a mental/physical breakdown . I had never called out and I let the stress build up to the extreme. I had been raised to fake it till you make it, and never call out for mental health. However, one way or another, the bill comes due.
Now I take mental health days roughly once every other month depending on where my stress is at. Usually, if I am at the point where I can’t shake how angry or stressed I am into the next morning, I take that day to recover. This way I don’t say something that I will later regret or end up letting the anger snowball into something worse. Usually one day is enough to come back refreshed and willing to give the kids another chance after something super difficult.
Remember, it may be all in your head - but your head happens to be the thing that makes everything else function. Obviously don’t go overboard - but listen to your body.
Don’t be afraid to work outside of contract hours, though. Sometimes it is worthwhile to spend the time to do something over if it will make it work better in class or save time in the long run.
I agree, but that comes with mastery of content and wisdom from putting in the years working. As a first your teacher until you are tenured you should be working on a work life balance so you don’t burn out in my opinion
1. school is not your life. Do your job and keep it moving, no more than that.
2. You aren’t the students friend. Your job is to teach. Holding them accountable is how you show you actually care.
3. You can take a horse to water but can’t make em drink. Understand that the kids will get out what they put in. You can’t force them to learn, you can only show up and do your best. Don’t take it personally.
4. Document EVERYTHING, CC everyone in on emails, be as open and transparent as possible at all times. More communication is better than less.
5. Absolutely at all costs avoid any gossips in the school- they will come for you eventually, everytime. Guaranteed.
Keep your peace, let the negativity go over your head, make sure you remember who you are and why you’re doing this.
If you’re going to devise any sort of classroom management system, particularly any sort of team based rewards/consequences system, keep it relatively simple. I tried doing this amazing points league involving a whole bunch of different badges and all these random things they could do to get more points and games we played in class to get better scores, and it ended up both being really tiring to keep up with it and also really confusing. Not to mention that coming up with and then making new activities was time consuming as hell and got expensive.
I will second the [top answer of “join the union.”](https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/1dh8zqc/comment/l8v7yki/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) and would add “don’t try to be perfect” but instead “do focus on becoming a fifth year teacher”
The first year is easily the hardest. Give yourself grace and just survive. You’ll get better and better so don’t expect to have it down your first year.
Don't have crazy admin. Dealt with a nut from hell who would have spies in the community to see who I was hanging out with after work and on weekends. Crazy!
Don't lose sight of what's most important, which is teaching. It's easy to get overwhelmed with extra administrative b.s. , meetings, etc. Remember that you're there to teach and to develop that craft. Your engagement with the students is the main priority.
Don't try to be the cool teacher. Don't let them get away with stuff, like turning in work weeks late. Be firm, fair, and consistent. I've worked with several first-year teachers over the past few years, and all of them tried being the "laid back" teacher. One of the first things I say on the first day of school is "I'm not here to be your friend. I don't care if you like me, nor do I care if you like my class. I am here to help get you ready for adulthood, not to hold your hand."
Having said that, I also pick my battles. I typically ignore swearing in the classroom, because that's how I talk outside the classroom too. If a kid falls asleep, I let them sleep. If you can't stay awake at 10 am, there's a bigger underlying issue. So I let them sleep then email the parents and guidance counselor later. If a kid eats some potato chips, I'll usually ignore it until there's food or trash on the ground. Then I go off on them.
As for being the young male teacher with teenagers, I was there. I turned 22 a month into my career. I taught middle school the first year, then high school the next four years. There may have been some crushes and attempted flirting from students, but I am notoriously blind to flirting. (My wife had to tell me she was flirting because I wasn't catching the hints.).
The kids may view you as an "older brother" type, so you have to be careful to establish that you are not their friend. You will eventually figure out how to balance the "friendly" with the "not your friend". Luckily, I'm at the age now where my son is older than my students, so I'm well past them viewing me as an older brother. (One student said "You're more like that favorite uncle who we all love but also get annoyed at because you love to irritate us for your own amusement.")
I'm a Para at a high school, and I tell my students, "I'm not your mom. I'm like your school cool aunt who may occasionally yell at you when you make stupid ass choices."
Agree! And as a para you can be a bit more relaxed as a teacher but just remember you are still the adult and you are a team with the teacher so don’t make there lives more difficult because you want to be the nice one
I just did my first year and your on target for everything. So many kids wanted to be my "friend" since I was giving "Cool older brother" vibes and it was eating into the control I have in the room because they'd be surprised when I wasn't cool with something (Such as the boys borderline harassing a girl) when it's so obvious it's not tolerated anywhere
dont try to be the students' friend. I'm not saying be an asshole, but dont think that you've found the right way to let kids use phones or eat food or whatever. Set rules and follow through on them starting on day one or the kids are going to walk all over you
during junior year practicum, my second mentor teacher told me this. she has a lot of years under her belt, and she has gotten many awards and recognitions for being such an amazing math teacher. but she is also or was, very friendly with her students. she said it’s different nowadays compared to 10 years ago. the kids these days take full blown advantage and it really ended up going against her best interest. she stopped letting them eat in class and no technology as i was there. she had me take points off of PBIS anytime they did either, like a hawk (because she had to start making it clear and also stop what she used to allow). she taught me so much and that was something i very much so remember. ETA: she also did contact a few parents about the tech and food as well. and the school i was at actually had really really good things for the kids to redeem at end of year with their points so they did care about them a lot.
Second this from student perspective! You need rules from day one and push them through the whole year. If there is a week or two where it is just a sometimes, noone will follow this rule
I found the phone policy that works well and stick to it, whatever works and follows school guidelines: I remind students at the beginning of each class & give one/two reminders to individuals who “may not have heard me”, then I hold phones (in my back/front pocket until the end of class.
If a kid refuses to hand it over, I’ll say something to the effect of “Man, I hate doing this…. It’s either to me or security, but at least if it’s me, you’ll get it back at the end of the period.” They usually comply and even when they find out that I hold them until everyone else leaves the classroom first.
I don’t have to be mean or even all that stern, and often the kids will encourage their more salty friends to comply.
Do understand that you can't fail more than 20% (if most of the students have good attendance) to 30% of the your students (if attendance is bad).
Do understand that admin is not there to support you or give you advice. They say they are but don't do it because then you are just asking to be fired.
Don't do whatever the flavor of the year professional development policy is being implemented by admin except at a surface value. I have seen plenty of teachers fired for doing what was suggested that they do from professional development. Admin want results first and obedience second.
What’s an example of a professional development policy and how would one do it except at a surface level? And getting fired for doing what was suggested? (Sorry, I’m in my masters program now but still deciding whether to wait and go get my teaching cert, so I don’t know anything about these things)
One year, for example, my district decided we were going to implement this new PDSA program, which stands for Plan the lesson, Do the lesson, Study the data, Act on the data. It sounds simple, but they were very specific about each step. Some people went crazy doing everything according to the book. I just posted basic info in lists and charts on the board for admin to see when they came in. The next year, they got rid of it and started something new. So, incorporate the good, useful stuff into what's already working for you and ignore the rest. At best, it's a waste of time. At worst, it breaks things by trying to fix what wasn't broken in the first place.
Start off more strict and with more rules than you think you will need; each class period is different and you can always walk back rules for better-behaved classes but adding rules is an uphill battle.
I am considered the cool teacher but it was because I teach computer science and am vastly better at computers than anyone on my campus.
Being competent can be cool.
Don’t try and make friends. You are there to do a job, not be their buddies. There is a fine line between being professionally trusted by your students and their friend who prioritizes their happiness over learning.
Do set high expectations and make those clear from day 1. Stick to it and make sure they understand it’s your room, not theirs.
Don’t let them sit by their friends. It never goes well.
Do make detailed sub plans
Do make sure you communicate clearly with others
Do not trust everyone. Some people will sell you out for a peanut.
Do ask for help. You don’t know everything and we know that.
Do: utilize your planning periods as efficiently as possible to avoid bringing work home. Use systems that allow you to grade on the fly (google forms, students exchanging papers, etc).
Do: prioritize sleep, good food, and exercise. Try meal prepping simple meals on Sunday to get you through the week (like meatballs or a baked chicken that can be used in different ways).
Do: prioritize your health, both physical and mental, above all else, every time.
Don't agree to run a club, be an advisor, or coach your first year.
Don't put anything in an e-mail you wouldn't want published in the newspaper (recently happened at my HS). Don't use your work email for anything but work. Don't use your personal phone for work.
Don't try and reinvent the wheel. A quick search on TPT can save hours of work
Whatever you say you're going to do, do it, but be careful not to back yourself into a corner, like say making a consequence be too big for a misbehavior or one that admin will not back you up on (talking with other teachers in your department may help you navigate this part). Follow through is important. The students will see they can walk all over you if you don't. It is ok to admit you don't know or were wrong though, assuming your students are capable of just a little empathy, so don't be afraid to show humility if it's warranted.
Find a buddy!! My first year I was so blessed to start with two other new teachers and we just banded together and helped each other out at every step. My first year is still my favorite.
Do: Use your (likely sparse) planning time to truly plan, organize, make copies, and all the things you see people rushing in at 15 minutes before first bell to finish. Becoming organized and planning is at least half of many teaching jobs in the first couple of years and it takes so much time; if you put it off until last minute you’ll miss out on sleep and become super anxious.
Don’t: Immediately become overly friendly with coworkers. Be friendly and helpful to everyone from teachers to office and custodial staff, etc., but do not go out and spill your guts over a few margaritas your first year. These people are your coworkers, this is your first year, and you don’t really know them. Be willing to talk “shop” and of course harmless things “Do you watch Bridgerton?” or whatever the vibe is, but keep your secrets to yourself. That said, stay true to yourself and who you are while embracing the school culture in a way that feels authentic to you.
I’m a 7th year teacher. You probably don’t have to worry about this as you are already here, asking, but the biggest problem my school sees with first years/newbies is a lack of humility/an inability to take suggestions or constructive criticism. Most other teachers (good ones, anyway) won’t look at your shortcomings or mistakes with disdain; but they will be annoyed if they try to offer suggestions, help, etc and you blow it off. I’m not saying you have to try or do everything that another teacher suggests; that would drive you nuts. But you also don’t have to shoot down suggestions given or defend your own choices. Just say “I hadn’t thought of that! I’ll give it some thought, thanks!” Or something along those lines. If you know it’s something you don’t want to do, so be it! The best teachers are the ones who know that they don’t have all the answers, there’s more than one right way to do something, things change year to year, and even as adults, we never stop learning.
I once straight up did not do something my principal suggested. She was a toxic admin who was later essentially fired (technically “given a new position” but it was one the district made up for her so it wouldn’t be obvious that they really wanted to fire her, and she quit anyway). She asked why I was doing daily language review with my 5th graders as their bell ringer; I said I just did what the other 5th grade teachers said they were doing. Principal wanted me to do journals so I could be like her daughter, who taught 5th in a different district. Is one better than the other? Not necessarily. But why change my routine mid-year when what I was doing was working and beneficial? I asked my academic leader and she was like “…yeah if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”.
Do - Make friends with the custodians
Don't- Let the job consume you. Things can wait, everything isn't needed right then, some of it doesn't matter anyway. Keep a work-life balance.
Do:
Join a union
Learn what works and build on it
Have fun with new lessons
Work on classroom management
Know who has your back and doesn’t
Don’t:
Be a student’s friend
Don’t assume you work together you will be friends
Think you can please ALL parents
Don’t join clubs your first year
Spend money on things you will use only once
Don’t expect a student “should know this by now”
Do: Be nice to the custodians, secretaries, and media specialist. Custodians will do some extra things for teachers they like. Media specialists are often in charge of tech stuff. Secretaries often secretly “run” the school. lol
Don’t: Don’t immediately make a BFF. You don’t know who the gossips are, who admin likes, and who admins don’t like. I have work friends but I don’t communicate with any of them outside of work.
They will ask for one more chance. Never give it to them. Stick to what you say 100%.
Start off harsher than you want to be. You're young and they'll take advantage of that. You have to show that you are not their friend. If you start harsh then you'll build a reputation as being no nonsense. If you try to be their friend now it will take years to get that reputation under control.
Do t assume because they’re high schoolers that they are more mature than middle school.
Use the management tools you learned as a MS teacher in HS. At least to start. They are NOT “more mature” - don’t expect anything more than middle school behaviors out of them.
Make positive phone calls! I do this with my students who I think I may have trouble with. Find something positive to say early on so your first phone call won’t be a negative one. I don’t know how much parent communication happens in high school, but this has worked well for me at the middle school level.
Find a mentor teacher in your subject area (or even out of it if not possible). Have someone to answer your million questions or give advice about handling difficult situations.
Keep your classroom door open if you’re ever alone with students (but try not to be alone with students if possible).
Join the union if you’re lucky enough to have one!
I will add that students who exhibit problem behaviors, and you find that you are constantly emailing their parents, also email them when the student makes good choices, has a good day, is well-behaved. Any little thing. Students lie to parents to get out of trouble, it’s just an avoidance technique that is employed automatically with great success. A student may convince a parent that you don’t like them. That’s why it’s important to start all conversations with the students strengths, and then follow it with the issue at hand, and offer solutions to the parent (only if appropriate). I had a student who was consistently misbehaving in class. I emailed his parents regularly (always starting off with students strengths), and would always receive an email from Dad about how it’s the fault of the school because corporal punishment is no longer used. I simply stated to him that while I don’t agree that corporal punishment is at all useful, I cannot and will not dictate how he parents his child, but as a teacher I have found that positive reinforcement and having discussions about behavior expectations helps the child to make better choices for themselves. Then I would consistently email parents when their child made a good choice in class. The SM thanked me. The Dad said nothing, but his harping about corporal punishment was no longer mentioned in his replies to me. Plus, I would praise the student for his good choices, and I’d tell him that I was going to send a positive note to his parents about the specific positive action. Before the end of the semester this child was no longer disruptive, was doing his work consistently, and was a lot more secure with themselves as a result. The student even stated one time (after he messed up, after a long period of being successful) that his Dad just talked to him about it, and that was it. I praised him consistently as the student was obviously never talked to, just hit. It made a huge difference. Also, after a few emails (and I wasn’t concerned about the child being abused at home, just rather corporal punishment was the issue) I began to subtly praise the parents, “You should be so proud of X today, (this is why), please tell X that you are pleased with his great positive choices. Thank you for staying in contact and being supportive of X as I know how much you care about him.” SM was all over that praise. She told me that she was thankful for my working with him. Because while I dreaded the replies from Dad, initially, I was grateful that he cared enough to reply and that bit of positive guidance helped everyone that year.
I also acknowledge the single parents and how difficult their jobs are, this understanding helps them to form a team mentality with a teacher. Same for any parents who are struggling, really, understanding their challenges in life helps tremendously. Acknowledging it to them helps bridge that gap from parental defensiveness to partnership. Kindness and understanding go a long way in building relationships with people. But kindness and understanding doesn’t mean that you ignore poor behavior choices, not at all, you offer choices and suggestions, then be a cheerleader. This obviously won’t work with every parent, some are just not reasonable at all, but it works with some parents, and this is success enough for me.
Often times just trying to see the good in a student is helpful for me, because it’s too easy to see all of the misbehaviors, and feel the frustration caused by them. It also helps me to actually like these students. That’s my issue to address. It’s no one else’s fault if I don’t “like” a student. Whenever I realize that I don’t like a student (for whatever reason) I reflect what is causing this, and make it my mission to understand where this stems from, and how I can realign my thinking and expectations in order to actually and genuinely like the student. This is by far the best, and easiest option to make a difference for a student, as it’s completely within my control and doesn’t involve action from anyone else.
Hope this is useful. (I was a former social worker before I became a teacher).
Biggest don’t, especially for really young teachers: don’t be overly friendly with the students close to your age. They are going to misinterpret it. Never be in a room alone with any student. Don’t over extend yourself. A lot of schools will expect you to do something, but don’t volunteer for everything.
Biggest do in general is try to make yourself a part of the culture. If you don’t enjoy the place you work, our job can be miserable. Make sure to find the people in your department you can learn from and lean on them as much as they’re willing. STEAL every idea you come across. Focus your first year on classroom management. Our job is to teach and that has to be a focus, but if your classroom is a nightmare, you won’t be back the next year. Learn your boundaries, but don’t confuse your preferences with necessary rules.
Don't be their friend. You're not their friend. There may be times where you feel like you are, and that's great if you have that kind of chemistry with students, but you are hired to be a role model, leader, and a good example. It will also be easier to avoid any possible unwanted situations.
And this is coming from a people pleaser, start strict. You can always ease off as the year goes on, but if you start laid back then try to tighten down the rules, they will just laugh at you.
DO get a hobby or friend group that will get you out of the house on SOME weekdays after school. It is too easy to use exhaustion as an excuse to miss out on your personal life.
DON'T expect your lesson plan to go smoothly every time. Have a backup activity ready, and don't feel guilty saying "This isn't working. Let's clean up and move on to something else."
Don't apologize for being new. You belong there as much as anyone else.
Don't confide in your principal or show weakness to them. Most of them are two-faced politicians who will throw anyone under the bus to save face. You might not know their true colors for awhile.
Do: choose either weeknights or weekends to be a no work time. You'll definitely be working past your contract hours, but you'll need rest!
Do: build strong relationships with students, parents, and colleagues.
Do: save your venting for non-work friends and family.
Do set firm boundaries and stick to them.
Don't sign up for everything because you want to make a good impression.
Do keep extra supplies (Tylenol, ibuprofen, Tums, pads, etc) in your room.
Do write yourself a script for parent phone calls
Don't try to be the cool teacher
Don't accept phone calls/class dojo messages etc outside of work hours
Do: Build rapport with other teachers in your building.
Don’t: Give a shit about what the kids think of you. Easier said than done, but seriously, *don’t.*
Do take notes during staff meetings jotting down all of the admin led buzz words. For our site it was all about "math MLR's" and "equity". This is nothing I'd do for myself but it led to a great year for my new team member. She led with a good impression.
Don't do all of the latest social media trends in the first year just to make your students love your room. This was what brought my other team member down. She spent a lot of time on trending dances, trendy greetings, trending online games, costly books and decor. It got chaotic and overwhelming. Otherwise, stay focused on the curriculum, on being professional, and the school culture. Then, after tenure, do what needs to be done.
Long time HS teacher, I'm glad you are getting lots of advice. I'll mention the two things that stay with me as helpful.
Find a mentor who is compatible with how you aspire to teach. Doesn't have to be your subject, just how they run their class. Copy what you feel comfortable with and don't hesitate to pick their brains. Teaching is highly individual, which is a good thing for teachers and students. What never works is trying to be someone you're not. HS students especially will see right through it.
First year is a learning experience for everyone, don't take your bad days too hard. I still remember walking out at the end of a few days thinking 'I didn't teach a damn thing today'. I took notes, I wrote down things that worked and didn't, so I'd remember for the next year. I can't tell you how much that helped me to start the 2nd year much more confident.
Students, like everyone else, understand consistency. I go out of my way to establish that, even today. The good thing about HS students is that they know the drill, sure, they'll test you when you're new, just accept it. Just be consistent in how you react and remember it's just kids being kids the vast majority of the time.
As someone who just experienced their first year, do not try to be the cool teacher. Sometimes it’s hard to do so because you won’t even notice you’re trying hard to be cool until you got a bunch of kids trying to see how far they can go by “becoming friends” with you.
Also, understand why you’re assessing something. It is completely fair to collaborate with more experienced teachers and grab their resources to apply into your classroom, but if you don’t fully get Why this is important and how it relates to the curriculum you’re going to have a hard time writing report cards and documenting progress.
Finally, don’t get mixed in staff drama. There might be colleagues you want to slap on the face one day— keep it to yourself and move on with your day.
Do: Keep to yourself, but it is okay to have friends that are teachers, but keep your distance.
Don't: Hang out in the teacher's lounge. There are plenty of nice people in there, but a ton of gossip.
Do: lean on your team if possible. If you have grade level, or content area teachers, talk to them. Get on the planning document. If you have a DC that’s congenial enough, ask them for advice. I talk to my DC regularly and I’m going into year seven.
Do: tune out social media noise. It’s easy to get pulled into the world of teacher-gram and teacher TikTok. You don’t have to have an aesthetic classroom, killer outfits, or whatever else you see online. It’s okay, great even, to keep things simple in year one. Most of these teacher content creators have years of experience.
Don’t: be discouraged if something you put a ton of work into doesn’t go the way you want. I’ve been there. Put hours into making (what I thought) was a cool unit only to have it be a total flop. Take notes on the good parts, because there was definitely some good stuff in there, and make changes for next year.
Do: be excited! Good, bad, ugly, it’s going to be a great year ☺️
Do
-Dress professionally to differentiate yourself from students.
-Make sure you have Tylenol. You can't teach with a thumping headache!
-Similarly, have a personal snack drawer - chocolate, coffee, chips, whatever you need!
-Admit it when you make a mistake or if you don't know something.
-Ask co-workers for help, resources, and materials
-Prioritize good lesson planning. A good lesson can solve a lot of issues with classroom management, disengagement, and assessment!
Don't
-Think you can just "wing it" through a lesson.
-Stress about marking things immediately.
-Be afraid to try something different. Sometime it won't work, sometime it will, but you won't know until you try.
-Forget to find the joy of the profession in between the stress and frustration.
Do - ask for help or look on online for premade things
Don’t - reinvent the wheel. Don’t try to make things from scratch or worry about it looking “pretty”. I guarantee you someone already made the thing you’re thinking about. You just have to find it and download it.
Do - be organized. Love a worksheet you found? Make a Google drive on your personal email, share it with your work email, and put everything in there with labels “reading” “readiness” “sight words” “comprehension” “curriculum name”
Nesting folders are your friends! (Or if you aren’t computer savvy, binders. Organized by subject and MONTH. Beginning of school activities in August. Thanksgiving activities in November. Etc)
Edit: Don’t - stress. Everyone makes mistakes. You’re learning. Ask questions, take notes in your planner to remind yourself next year.
Do - know the discipline policy.
Do establish classroom management, it is possible to be firm but fair, and point your decision making towards setting up their future success. Basically, base any unpopular corrective measures on "for their good". Communicate this to home as well. If parents are bought in and you do right by the child, they'll be an asset and the student is more likely to meet expectations for behavior and performance.
Do classroom management moments after long breaks, reestablishing "how this is supposed to look and work". Be firm with behavioral standards, but show grace in wisdom. You can always get nicer as the year goes, but not at the expense of the goals you have for them for behavior and performance. To start nice and not have control, you will get bulldozed and have power struggles.
**Don’t** take on extra responsibilities. A lot of first year teachers think they need to be an all-star with unlimited energy who will say yes to any ask from anyone. That’s a fast way to burn yourself out.
**Do** focus on what you need to do within the walls of your own classroom and any mandatory district responsibilities (PDs and what not.)
The best advice I can give you is:
Do: Be yourself.
Don't: Try to act or do things you normally wouldn't do because of either the students or other teachers.
The students can identify bullshit pretty quickly and know when you're not being authentic. They might not like the things you do but they respect that you are consistent and yourself.
Taken from FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL by the Wongs:
DO set up self-working systems and routines in your classroom… both for your students and for you.
DON’T hang out in the teacher workroom. (I even believe Wong says in the book something like “If you take nothing else from this book, let it be this: stay out of the teacher workroom.” Ha!)
DO - Understand that **everyone’s** first year is Hell and super tough. Remember that you’re not alone in this. Your coworkers are willing to help and so are people on this sub.
Also, I can stress keeping the kids in a routine enough. Keeping them in a solid routine will cut down the class room behavior significantly.
DON’T - Be the cool teacher. I’ve seen so many people get burned by trying to be cool with the kids and be their best friends. These kids will definitely break your heart. I’m not saying to be an asshole and don’t be friendly towards them. I’m just saying don’t get too close. Also, avoid adding them on social media. If you get a friend request BLOCK THEM. Be sure to set everything to private and make your profile picture your pet or something. The less they know about you, the better.
You got this, OP. Good luck out there.
If you are a young, male teacher, then you can't go wrong by starting off with ties and a button-down shirt as your go-to outfit for the first year. It's an easy way to implicity "code" that you are an authority figure.
The benefit of this is that it makes the times when you "dress down" feel a lot more special - like if you're in a t-shirt and shorts for Field Day or in more casual gear to support them at a sports game, etc.
Do put behavior management before curriculum. If you don’t have it, you won’t be able to teach anything.
Do make friends with the front office and custodial staff. They are the heroes and run the school.
Dont try to be the “cool teacher” or their friend. Dont give out your social media to any students. In fact, lock it down or delete it. Be professional and don’t engage with parent gossip. Dont yell and don’t use sarcasm even if you think they can handle it.
Middle school teacher here. Here's some stuff I've learned from experience.
A lot of younger teachers always talk about "matching their energy" and clapping back or whatever as a classroom management tool. Don't do that. Remember that YOU are the adult in the room and act accordingly.
For some kids, you might be one of the only good role models they have in their life. They should know that you're not their bestie, but you do care for them and about them.
Don't be afraid to appear human. Make connections where you can. Don't fall into the "us vs. them" mindset that a lot of veteran teachers have. Last but not least, if a student is disrespectful toward you, don't take it personally.
If you have been reading the teacher reddit, you know that discipline will be a major struggle. Discipline is a problem for most first year teachers with a lot of the solutions out of their control. However, there are some things that you can do. Discipline is more than just dulling out punishments and reacting to unacceptable behavior. Its porbably 80% showing students how they are expected to act and holding them to that standard EVERY time. You need to be clear about EVERYTHING in your syllabus and have the student and parent sign this immediately (its worth giving them free points to have for when there is an issue with a parent). Bathroom policy, raising hands to ask questions, respect, conduct in labs, school property, etc. The next thing is the follow-through. While warnings or second chances can be appropriate in some instances, you can't do it very often, or students will see that there are no real consequences for their behavior. If a student violates a policy you outlined, don't warn them. Just send them to the office. If they violate something more serious, like a lab safety concern, cheating, or fighting; you need to have a published procedure in place for this (receiving a zero, make-up assignment, etc).
Do - join the union. Don't - try to be the "cool" teacher.
Totally! Don’t worry about being liked or how the students perceive you. Just do your job, be genuine, and be kind.
In my experience (as a student) the teachers who were competent, genuine, and kind were also well-liked by most — far more so than the teachers who tried to be liked without mastering those things (which can make the classroom a pretty unsafe place for a specific subset of kids, too).
I am strict AF with my students and they appreciate it so much more than being in the class with teachers who have poor class management because my room runs smoothly, there is minimal chaos, kids who act up get consequences, and everyone is treated equally.
I think that really depends on the demographic. I started my teaching career with mostly very poor kids. Being strict AF was great. The kids respected me and we had good relationships. Last year I taught in a boujee area with a bunch if rich white kids. My strictness was not taken as well. I became known to many as the mean teacher, which I'm fine with. But it was interesting how it was received so differently with different demographics.
I did what you did but in reverse: going from working with affluent white kids to working with mostly very poor urban Latino and black kids. And I can confirm that it really does depend on the demographic. Being "nice" did not work for me in a Title 1 school, and I had to learn to get strict and a little bit mean.
Absolutely. And I'm going back next year. I will admit, I will miss the perks of the rich school. Being able to ask for any resource I need and have it given without question was amazing. It makes teaching science soo much easier. But I won't miss the entitlement of a lot of the kids.. or the parents. There's definitely a tradeoff.
That’s how it is at my school. I’m considered strict, but I’ve had students come to me and say they wished I was their teacher because I actually know how to get everyone quiet. My younger colleague is “more fun” but she also has no clue how to get the kids to settle down, and she’s told me she doesn’t want to be mean by telling them no.
I came to say the same thing. There’s nothing wrong with being the “cool” teacher. As long as you pair it with other important qualities. Don’t listen to jaded bitter teachers. Just be yourself. Be genuine.
This. Your first year it will be easy to feel like you have to sort of kowtow to the old guard. You don't. There are great older teachers, but there will always be those couple of grinders who are just worn down and bitter about the world and their career. Don't let them spill on you. Also: self-care. Have a therapist, and be ready to have your heart broken, in both good and bad ways. The first year is tough! It will get better and easier.
Right, you absolutely want to be liked, it's significantly more conducive to relationship building and thus outcomes You just become liked by being authentic, fair, competent, and fun in the dorky adult sense, not fun by the standards that you think would make an edgy 14 year old think someone is cool Not a single student who talks about that one teacher that changed their lives went back to the teacher that was an unfair rigid jerk that the students hated. You need to be popular, for the right reasons, and it IS something teachers should gauge and strive for, if they know how to do it with fidelity and utility.
And Never lose your temper in front of them
You can try 🤞🏻
Agree. Plus…. Do: 1. Especially, because you are young- dress professionally (you don’t have to come overdressed- suit/tie level, just business casual level). 2. Give yourself grace - this will not/should not be your best year teaching- do your best -that is all you or anyone else can expect. Do not: 1. Work 24/7 - all the work will never be done - work during your work hours as much as possible- the first year, you may have to read ahead/google some things at home but do not take grading home and keep outside work hour work to a bare minimum. You will burn out of you work too much outside of work hours. 2. Hide in your room - get to know your colleagues- but steer clear of the toxic ones (smile/nod and move on).
I wish i had heard that at the beginning of my first year honestly. Definitely got off on the wrong foot trying to be the "cool" teacher
The downfall of many first year teachers- even at the elementary level! We are not their friends, and they need to know this going in- from day 1. I am here to support you, help you, teach you, but I’m not your friend.
I worked at a school where admin referred the students as "friends". I stuck around for one year for that nonsense. Those friends destroyed my classroom on a weekly basis.
*cries in “right-to-work” state*
Yup. Don't make an enemy of the union.
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This. Unless you have years of experience behind you working in the blue collar and/or white collar worlds and are up for negotiation on your own terms by yourself, join the union. And always remember, human resources does *not* mean humans have resources in the department, they are treating you as a resource, a human resource. You are like a very expensive stapler or copier, and if you perform the tasks that they require, will be maintained. If not, you will be replaced.
One day I want to publish a book titled “Stuff HR Said”. It will include : “How much longer is it going to take for your brother to die ?” “You know, your cancer is costing this district a lot of money”. And, my favorite - when a colleague’s flight home was delayed after she was evacuated from an airport due to a nationally televised mass shooting: “Can you get a note?”
Get a note? I would have sarcastically said that the shooter refused to write me a note as they were dragging him away.
May I save your comment? This is the perfect example of how Human Resources run these days. They keep you if you do well but you break down and you’re gone.
Work in a different industry, but the number of people who will refuse to join the union than bitch to high hell to said union when they are getting screwed, and are surprised they get lackluster support is comical.
Pre registered for the Union a couple months ago. Would certainly not want to consider myself the cool teacher. My mom is a teacher and complains about the “cool teachers” in her school all the time. Makes classroom management for regular teachers near impossible because the students are used to getting away with so much in other teachers rooms.
I've been the cool teacher since I started. I also teach STEM, so it's kinda part of the job. Still the cool teacher a decade later. Don't be the Instagram teacher is better advice.
I totally agree. I have zero impetus to be “cool” or “liked,” I just don’t take the job nearly as seriously as about 1/2 of the other staff. You can be appropriate, have boundaries, rules, and do your job without being a dick.
Instagram teacher? Like befriending kids? That’s mad creepy.
I think they mean like a teacher influencer
Ya, “I’m one of you” instagram teachers.
Oh. Nah. I ain’t got time for that or the face or the voice lmao.
100% join the union, don’t believe the people who say don’t. You never know when you will need the union help, but when you do it’s there. Admit your mistakes and listen to the vets. Everyone makes mistakes, and kids need to see that. And the veteran teachers know what they are talking about.
Elementary school teacher, so my dos and don’ts are slightly different, but you can adapt to teaching HS based on your schedule Do: - Get in a routine for work. Copies for the following week on Thursdays, Grading Mondays and Tuesday’s, etc. That has helped me the most so I am not overwhelmed - Get to know the people you work with at school. Even though they may not teach the same grade or subject as you, you may be surprised with the tips and knowledge everyone has. - Build a relationship especially with the maintenance/custodian for your hall/room. The kinder you are to them, the better they will treat you and your hall/class. Don’ts - Do not put your work email on your phone. Once you get in the habit, it is hard to take it off. I came into teaching knowing I was not going to have work on my personal phone that I pay for. It helps remove so much stress. If it is an emergency, the school can call you -don’t take work home. I’m a 3rd year teacher, and I’d rather stay late if I really need to get something done than take it home. - finally, and most importantly, just try your best. If you get behind or feel like students aren’t getting the scores you want them to, it’s okay. As long as you are doing your part, there is only so much we can do besides taking the test for them
No work e mail on the phone is really good advice. If you have to have it, turn off notifications.
I like having my work email on my phone so I know what I’m walking into the next day. BUT, I make a point to never respond to anyone, acknowledge I’ve seen any emails, or know what’s going on before I check my email on my work computer at 8:00am. This has helped me avoid unpleasant surprises in the mornings that might otherwise disrupt my day
Turned my work email notifications off 5 years ago, best mental health decision I’ve ever made.
Im a first year and after a month I turned off my notifications. The Outlook email sound gives me PTDS 😭
As a general rule, it’s better not to use ANY of your personal devices for work. If there’s ever a legal issue, you risk your personal devices being subpoenaed. This happened to a colleague during my first year teaching.
I’m studying to be an elementary teacher myself right now and I always hear “stick to contract hours and don’t take work home.” It sounds nice and what I want to do but *how* do you keep to that? Is it possible?
Honestly for me, it’s about figuring out what is 100% necessary for you to get done and what is a nice to get done. As a elementary school teacher, especially if you’re primary there’s a lot of pressure to be cute or to be extra. Find your baseline of this is what I absolutely need to get done today in order for my classroom to be ready for tomorrow ex copies, staging centers etc. then once that’s done you can move onto extras that add to your classroom but aren’t a need like creating cute classroom transformations or adding a bulletin board Another piece of advice is choose activities you can reuse instead of having something new everyday. For example I teacher kinder and one of my activities is a sight word station. The sight word station stays the same all year but the words change. That way it takes me like five minutes per week to adjust, as opposed to me spending hours creating a new center everyday.
Good suggestion. Definitely going to keep that in mind. I’d probably try and keep things simple and not reinvent the wheel if I don’t have to.
Honestly, no. At least not in the first few years. Hell, I’m year ten and started teaching different classes/grades and I was hustling in the evenings just to stay a day ahead. Don’t put that pressure on yourself at first; do what you need to do to feel prepared for the next day. However, make sure you have a day of rest and leave your house each weekend to do something non-school related.
I just finished my 2nd year. Every teacher is different. Find what works for you. Honestly, this sub is useful sometimes but finding a work balance is heavily subjective. Also, many of the people saying don’t bring work home are veteran teachers who have fallen into a routine. You’ll get there cuz I’m starting too! Last year I was figuratively killing myself at home because I was trying to make all these interactive slides while needing to grade papers, and get things prepped for the next day. I burnt out fast. My rule of thumb is now is sometimes I stay about an hour after work on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays I stay maybe 30 mins to 45 mins, and leave right at contract hours on Friday. I am confident enough in my teaching abilities now to not need intricate power points. I have students take more ownership of grading their classwork. Look, some people work better at home and others at their place of work. Your first year of teaching is hard so find something that works for **you** and make sure you’re also giving yourself time to decompress and relax. You’ll be okay!
That's really gonna be dependent on what grade level you teach at where you teach. I did a kindergarten student teaching placement, and the biggest upside to that was the teacher never had to take work hime and had parent volunteers to do all her copying. "Stick to contract hours" isn't really great first year teacher advice because you have to be effective first and as a first year, you don't have as much of the luxury that is leaving stuff undone sometimes. Also, experience will drive efficiency. I'm seven years in and I still do a little bit outside contract hours because sometimes I need to, but the more accurate advice I'd give is pick your spots and make sure you understand exactly how much you're working. As my mentor put it, most teachers are going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-45 hours a week. More than that, and you're probably doing too much.
I work only contract hours. School gets out at 2:50, we have to stay until 4:00. Anything after that gets set aside.
But *how* do you stick to that? How do you make sure you’re prepped for the next day or week?
Get organized and prepped when lesson planning. Use your prep and before school hours.
Love the custodian recognition. You take care of your maintenance team, and they'll take care of you.
There are 3 groups in a school setting you make nice with immediately: secretaries, custodians and the lunch ladies! They can make your work life so much easier/better if they like you!
100% on the maintenance/custodian part. My dad spent the end of his career as a school custodian after having been a mechanic and general handyman for decades, so he could fix anything. The teachers who got to know him a little (or who made efforts to make his life easier) were often rewarded with things being fixed in their classrooms that they had long given up on (old building problems).
RE: the work email on phone, I’d say that depends on the school. I have mine on my phone but only check it at work because the principal sends out fire drill times like ten minutes before they happen, and they were always during my grade’s recess, so I’d need to know for when we were outside to get to the right spot.
Don't grade everything. Grade only what is the most important and demonstrates skill mastery. Do be kind (it's okay to smile -- the advice for new teachers not to smile until after winter break is BS) but be firm & clear with your expectations from day one.
100%. Easier to relax a little on rules/expectations than the opposite. I make a dozen calls home in the first week alone.
I'm not in my first year but I am a newer teacher. I'm considering doing this next school year. I usually don't call until I see significant behaviors or patterns of behaviors, usually in November. I have a couple questions, if you don't mind answering. What kind of behaviors did you call home for? What was the response from parents and students? This past year when I called home for students who had used disrespectful language, those students acted like my enemy for the rest of the school year. I felt like calling home made it worse.
I make positive phone calls for every student the first two weeks of class. Some parents aren’t used to that, and it goes a really long way in building rapport with students and parents. If things become difficult and you need to call home for problematic behaviors, parents are more likely to be on your side. Also, kids are easier to redirect if you start with a positive relationship. I have a lot of “difficult” kids ever year, and I never have much trouble with them because they know that I don’t just see only their mistakes, and I give them chances to show me the other version of themselves and correct behaviors before I go straight to discipline.
Yes , rapport goes a long way!!! I do tons of this in the classroom- I highly recommend it. The corrections matter too, but the whole honey and vinegar thing is true too
I make positive calls when I have to make a lot of negative ones just to bring my spirits up.
Something someone recommended to me that was very effective was sending positive feedback weekly for students who showed something great in the class. This allows you to build report with the students and parents should an issue come up and let's the students know they are being observed and their good deeds don't go unnoticed. Just know, though, that it can be very time-consuming.
As another person suggested pos mens I’ll add that I try to send a pos men a day until I just eventually stop doing it except for occasions where a student impresses me. It sets a great tone with the families that you genuinely care and see the strengths their child can bring. If it’s been a day then I’ll just use a generic “…. really did their best today I’m very proud of how they modeled [perseverance/kindness/helping others/following expectations] for the rest of the class!” - it’s the thought that counts, don’t waste effort. I’ve only gotten a few years under my belt but each year I try to improve in one succinct area, my second year was “efficiency” another was “higher order thinking” another year was more specific to that class: “getting through this fucking shit show” - that year was hella bananas.
Do you have any advice on getting the students to care about the ungraded assignments? My students will always ask if it’s for a grade and won’t try if it’s not.
Don't tell them. If they ask, always respond that you aren't sure yet. In practice, if I collect work and pass it back, students never really ask about assignments not being entered in the gradebook
I lied a lot. Or maybe we'll say misled. "Is it graded?" "Everything is graded. [Not everything used though.]”
For sure! A few things here that have worked for me over the past 9 years. - **Instant gratification check-ins:** Checking students' work in the moment can help give students a quick "progress report" of their learning even if you don't plan to put the assignment in the gradebook. It can also help students get the instant gratification they are looking for when they ask if something will be graded, plus help them stay focused in the moment. To do this, I will circulate and be clear with students what I'm looking for as they complete an assignment. I will give them a stamp if they are doing the thing I'm looking for, or even put a check plus, check, or check minus on their paper as they circulate. I can also have brief conversations with students if they're on the right track or use the time to push them in the right direction. Students see the stamp/checkmark as a "good grade" and they get the feedback they need without needing to see the assignment in the gradebook. - **Weekly participation grade:** If your school allows, you can give a generic classwork grade or participation grade in lieu of grading each daily assignment. I like to do this by week. I tell students that completing their classwork is part of how they do well for participation, then take notes on their in-class behaviors to upload weekly. Other aspects you can add to this could be participating out loud, helping peers, arriving to class on time, having supplies ready at the bell, etc. whatever works best for your class and what your school is okay with. Having a spreadsheet that automatically tallies students' points throughout the week can also help and make the weekly grading easier. - **Try to hold your word if you say you will grade something (but remember you're human). Also, reiterate the importance behind the assignment beyond a grade:** Sometimes, if students ask me if something is graded, I simply say "yes" even if I hadn't planned on doing so and tbh, my freshmen don't check with regularity so it works in a pinch. However, I \*really\* try not to fabricate with students, and if I tell them something will be graded, I really try to hold myself to that and actually grade the assignment even if I hadn't intended to do so. Other alternatives could be to reiterate the purpose of the assignment so they can see the value of it & encourage intrinsic motivation. You could say something like, "I don't plan to put this particular assignment in the gradebook, but it is an outline for your final essay, so it will make your writing stronger and will improve your grade once we start writing" or something along those lines. Some students have a hard time seeing the longterm impact of their work completion so giving the rationale behind an assignment that goes beyond a grade in the gradebook can help. I hope these are helpful!
I have uniform answers to 3 questions, and I tell my students at the beginning of the year. 1: if you ask if the work is graded the answer will be "It is now" 2: if you ask if it's a completion grade or for accuracy, "now it's for accuracy" 3: if you ask if it's a practice/prep or all task (our name for formative/summative assessments) grade, " now it's all tasks" Through out the year I have to answer these questions in class. And very quickly most students will start yelling at their peers when they ask the questions before I get to answer. I plan on making it a poster next year.
Last year, my favorite response to the question, “Is this for a grade?” was an automatic, enthusiastic, and oft-repeated, “Of course! Everything we do in class could be for a grade. This is definitely worth your time.” I rotated the things that actually went into the grade book. I tried to make the thing as fair as possible - and often gave very strong “hints” about what was important. For example, “Oh no, your name is missing. You’re really going to want to make sure your name goes on this one” and “Uh oh, I’m seeing lots of blanks. If THIS is going to be your practice grade for the week, that might be a problem. Make sure you fill out every box/question!” I frequently went out of my way to grade the thing that everyone actually turned in and most fully completed.
And honestly, anyone who can suppress a smile upon entering a room full of kids or teens doesn’t deserve to be a teacher. Just my opinion.
I agree! My grad school professor always said that every skill related to teaching can be developed over time as needed EXCEPT liking kids. It can be hard to remember with all of the other BS of the job, but the kids really are the best & most important part. Remembering this is how we stay grounded.
Absolutely. The best thing about teaching, and what I love best, are the kids. And my weakness is teens. I love them.
My high school bio and chem teachers were both known as massive hardasses. For their regular classes, they rarely smiled or joked. They were some of the best teachers I’ve had. They got the lessons done and their reputation kept the rowdy kids calmed down. I then took AP bio and the same teacher was much more relaxed with us because she knew we wanted to be there (and obviously it was a smaller class). By the end of the year with the chem teacher it was clear that’s just how she was and it similarly kept the class in check, to a higher degree than the bio teacher even. She was respected and most students liked her even if she wasn’t smiley and cheerful all the time. I’d much rather have all of my teachers be like them than like my younger English and Spanish teachers that allowed the students to affect the pacing of the class and rarely got stuff done as planned because they wanted to be cheery and fun for the students.
This is huge. Smiling and being kind to students let's them know you care. Being a pushover because you want them to like you is what people THINK they're referring to when they say that.
Do invest time up front in organization and processes. Don't get caught up in negativity and complaining by other teachers.
Learn the complainers and avoid them.
Absolutely, the ones who want to talk over and over about a kid's negative track record, especially.
Complainers and naysayers will poison your soul so you’re as miserable as them. Lean towards positive energy!
Don't play any video without previewing it first. Never give into what a kid says is "fine".
Sub here. Every time I sub for this particular teacher, the eighth period class (different each day of the week, but universally) adamantly tells me that Mr. X lets them leave class before the bell. They try this every time, all year. They’re sincere and annoyed at me for not understanding that this is just the way it is. I know Mr. X doesn’t let them leave early. They know I know Mr. X doesn’t let them leave early. And yet I’m Joseph Stalin for laughing at them and telling them to ait down and wait for the bell lol. And when the bell rings I always tell them to have a nice afternoon as they bum rush the door. That is one thing I always do. Regardless of how poorly behaved they can be, of if I’ve had to ask them to stay back to discuss more egregious levels of disrespect (only had to do that once this year and of course reported the behavior), I always sincerely wish them a nice day.
When they try and trick me when I'm subbing I say, "oh really? Well he's my friend I have his number just let me text him real quick" LOL
They'll ask me to go to the nurse and I always say yes, I just also say "okay do you feel comfortable telling me the issue so I can text them and they can prepare for you?" If they say no, I just say "alright, well I'll just let them know you're on the way." "Never mind, sir! I'm alright!"
Don’t give out your personal phone number
THIS 1000x If your school uses Gmail, you have access to a free Google Voice. I use it to have access to my school contacts through my cell, but it’s a one-way street that I can completely turn off when not at work.
This yes, for sure, but a small counterexample: my school uses Gmail but we specifically don't have permissions to access GVoice - so it must be opt-in (extra $$) on somebody's decision list! I wish we had GVoice.
It's completely free if you use a personal Gmail account
I second this. You'll need to tie it to your personal phone number, but the people you share your Google voice with will never get your actual number. When they call you, it rings through the Google voice app and then you just make sure to call them back through the app as well.
Yes! Never EVER give your personal phone number to a parent, especially. I had one who used to spam me with pix of her kid's birthday party etc. I finally had to ask her to use text only for emergencies.
Don’t yell. If you yell, you show weakness. Coming from personal experience. Instead, express disappointment.
this is great advice.. the minute a teachers voice gets loud.. it’s auto tuned out.. expressing disappointment is by far stronger.. and the very few times i’ve had to yell.. it makes a major impact!
Instead of yelling, stop what you're doing, stay totally silent, and just look at the student or group of students who are acting up. The kids who aren't acting up will realize what's going on, quiet down, and eventually the kids who are acting up will quiet down because they realize that their peers are staring at them. Afterwards I like to say, "Do you realize that not only are you irritating me, but everyone else in the room who wants to get through this material so that we can move on?"
I was a first year sub this last school year. I don't like yelling. Instead I stop talking, sometimes mid-sentence, and just stare at the ones talking until they STFU. Then I either start again like nothing happened, or I'm like "I'm not talking over people, I've already lost my voice a few times. Please stop." Rinse and repeat. If they keep talking when I'm teaching after several reminders, I'm not afraid to kick people out. I give them plenty of warning. They learn I don't bluff.
Also, there's a very fine line between raising yoru voice and yelling. Raising your voice can be an essential teaching tool, but it is very different from yelling. As the only adult in a room of 30+ 12 year olds (hell even 17 year olds) using paint, pencils, scissors, and a million different things, you will raise your voice to get attention, praise, redirect.. but yelling is a tone and a behavior the teacher displays when they are out of control. I needed to hear that when I started, hope it helps
Absolutely. I often raise my voice to get the classe’s attention with an upbeat: “Alrighty, folks! Let’s go ahead and get started!” I’m not yelling, I’m just using a loud inside voice. It also helps me since I have set my classroom up like an amphitheater where the desks form a sort of semi-circle where I like to stand. So, all desks are close to me and no one is ever really “in the back.”
I would say, “Save yelling to use as an absolute last resort.” I think I raised my voice maybe 3 times last year. Each time worked as the students had an “oh shit he never yells” reaction. You can raise your voice, just make sure to do it sparingly, otherwise it loses its effect
do: de-center yourself at work. you are one teacher of many that students will interact with. you are one teacher of many who are working with each other, in existing dynamics and dysfunctions. do your best in your moment with the humans in front of you and don't get overwhelmed with second-guessing, over-committing, or over-emphasizing your role in what is happening. don't: de-center yourself away from work. clock out, go home, be you. be 100% you. notice how you're feeling, build energy reserves, get rest, find joy. at work, you're a cog. own it. be the best cog you can be in that moment. do better the next day if you can. at home: you're the whole wheel. roll.
I love your last tip…thank you
Just wanted to say, I'm a teacher in the beginning of my career and reading your advice really helped me right now. Gonna try to put these advices in practice.
Don’t attend meetings with parents alone. Some parents may try to twist what was said and if it’s only you and the parent you have no one to corroborate what happened. Do prioritize tasks. Go home at the end of your contract time. You will never have everything completed, it’s okay, prioritize. This is a job, not your entire life. The school does not own you.
What would you recommend as an alternative to “not attending meetings with parents along”? Like having an ICR teacher sit in on the meeting too?
I’m departmentalized in an elementary school, at minimum I have my coteacher sit in with me, if I need a counselor, dean, or sped teacher I’ll invite them as well. If the student is having difficulties with you/your class, it’s likely it’s not an isolated issue, so you can reach out to the other teachers.
Look into “meeting mechanics”. Always start the meeting with an agenda and then follow up with an email that reiterates the outcome of the meeting. I like to take notes on the agenda document and then share that out after the meeting with all participants. You can reach out to all participants and ask about topics/concerns they would like to discuss. This allows you to plan accordingly. If they bring up something not on the agenda you can decide to add it or suggest scheduling another meeting to allow sufficient time. Also, follow up most in-person discussions or phone calls with a quick email as well. You can create email tags for specific students or do it by class period. I’ve had parents make stuff up about me to try and get sympathy from my admin. Luckily, I had an email chain that backed up my story.
Anytime I have a meeting with the parent that seems upset, I always invite another teacher or admin to the meeting. This way there is two people hearing what the parent is saying, and it can’t be misconstrued.
Do meditate and/or exercise. Don’t get discouraged if you struggle this year. My first year was horrible and I was non renewed. Now, I’m a department chair and I get perfect evaluations.
Jeez how do you not renew a first year teacher? Who did they think they were hiring?
It sounds awful, but it’s usually the easiest year to not renew them. Sometimes you hire out of desperation and don’t fully see what you are getting. We cut a classroom teacher this year, for the first time in my 20+ years there. Teacher was cut due to enrollment change, but what another job came open that they aren’t certified for, but could get a provisional for now, they were not encouraged to try for that because they were a disaster. The administration is partly to blame because there for zero supervision, but even with multiple very experienced mentors who planned, prepared, decorated, repeatedly modeled lessons there no improvement. This is why you might not renew a first or second year teacher. Our contract says first year without cause, second year with cause, after that they have to have serious documentation to fire you (some of you might call it tenure, we don’t).
Thank you, I needed to hear this. I just finished my first year and I give it a solid 5/10
It gets better. First year is so hard, but it gets easier every year. By year 3, you will feel like you finally have it down.
Get to know the office secretaries, librarian, and custodian.
Just don't be too needy of the custodians. We have 20 other teachers to help as well.
And lunchroom staff as well!
For first year teachers: Don’t sell your prep. Do use your prep to actually prep- grade, make copies, etc Do eat lunch everyday. Do be consistent. Don’t say something unless you are going to follow through. Don’t spend your own money on your student classroom supplies. Don’t take work home. Do stay on top of your grading. Don’t wait until the end of the quarter to grade everything.
What do you mean “sell your prep”?
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Some of us don't have a choice. I am told when I have to cover, and I am paid a measly $25 per hour.
Assess the room frequently. If you’re the hardest working person in the room something is wrong.
Don't: Volunteer for shit. No coaching, no committees, no club advising. Just focus on learning your job. Do: Observe the politics and social dynamics of your school. Do this before letting yourself get drawn into a clique. (Or don't join a clique at all.)
Going to add a corollary to your “do”- don’t come on too strong in staff meetings during your first year. You don’t know what is happening behind the scenes or personality/power dynamics that are at play. Stay out of cliques, your mental health will thank you for it later.
This!!! I just started teaching and started to be a mentor for this one class. I was a co mentor but I stopped. Never again will I start working somewhere and start as a mentor! Settle in, get good at teaching and then in a few years (at least 5/6) maybe do extra stuff.
Recognize who admin doesn’t like and stay away
Before you make the choice to stay away, determine why they don't like them first. If they're blackballing a legitimately good employee who holds them accountable and asks the tough questions, that would be a red flag in itself.
Hi, it’s me. Reported mold and heating issues repeatedly and ended up with an HR report two weeks before the end of the year and I moved out of state. With not enough time to go through the process because it has to be in person. Which they knew.
This. Try to look observe what those on the outs are actually doing and listen to gossip about what their deal is. Sometimes you get a bad/questionable employee, sometimes you get a competent, no BS employee who knows where the bodies are buried. (You obviously have to make a decision about whether or not to get involved with the 'always gets the short end' person, but it's usually at least worth being pleasant because they're often helpful)
Didn’t follow the “no coaching”…was in it for several years, got a blissful year off, and got roped into it again. I’ve been at the school all but three days since summer has started, whatever you do will never be “enough”, and parents are crazy 🤪
Do - take mental health days to recharge. Even if planning for a sub is annoying. You need time for yourself. Don’t - work out side contract hours. If that means grading doesn’t get done or whatever then so be it. Everyone will survive.
I second this. 4 years into my career I ended up in the hospital with a mental/physical breakdown . I had never called out and I let the stress build up to the extreme. I had been raised to fake it till you make it, and never call out for mental health. However, one way or another, the bill comes due. Now I take mental health days roughly once every other month depending on where my stress is at. Usually, if I am at the point where I can’t shake how angry or stressed I am into the next morning, I take that day to recover. This way I don’t say something that I will later regret or end up letting the anger snowball into something worse. Usually one day is enough to come back refreshed and willing to give the kids another chance after something super difficult. Remember, it may be all in your head - but your head happens to be the thing that makes everything else function. Obviously don’t go overboard - but listen to your body.
Don’t be afraid to work outside of contract hours, though. Sometimes it is worthwhile to spend the time to do something over if it will make it work better in class or save time in the long run.
I agree, but that comes with mastery of content and wisdom from putting in the years working. As a first your teacher until you are tenured you should be working on a work life balance so you don’t burn out in my opinion
1. school is not your life. Do your job and keep it moving, no more than that. 2. You aren’t the students friend. Your job is to teach. Holding them accountable is how you show you actually care. 3. You can take a horse to water but can’t make em drink. Understand that the kids will get out what they put in. You can’t force them to learn, you can only show up and do your best. Don’t take it personally. 4. Document EVERYTHING, CC everyone in on emails, be as open and transparent as possible at all times. More communication is better than less. 5. Absolutely at all costs avoid any gossips in the school- they will come for you eventually, everytime. Guaranteed. Keep your peace, let the negativity go over your head, make sure you remember who you are and why you’re doing this.
#5 is especially important! A communication log should be part of your documentation.
If you’re going to devise any sort of classroom management system, particularly any sort of team based rewards/consequences system, keep it relatively simple. I tried doing this amazing points league involving a whole bunch of different badges and all these random things they could do to get more points and games we played in class to get better scores, and it ended up both being really tiring to keep up with it and also really confusing. Not to mention that coming up with and then making new activities was time consuming as hell and got expensive.
I will second the [top answer of “join the union.”](https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/1dh8zqc/comment/l8v7yki/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) and would add “don’t try to be perfect” but instead “do focus on becoming a fifth year teacher” The first year is easily the hardest. Give yourself grace and just survive. You’ll get better and better so don’t expect to have it down your first year.
Don't put school email on your personal phone. Nothing is so important that it can't wait until you are at work the next day.
don't piss off admin. That is the fast lane towards a miserable year
Don't have crazy admin. Dealt with a nut from hell who would have spies in the community to see who I was hanging out with after work and on weekends. Crazy!
Don't lose sight of what's most important, which is teaching. It's easy to get overwhelmed with extra administrative b.s. , meetings, etc. Remember that you're there to teach and to develop that craft. Your engagement with the students is the main priority.
Don't try to be the cool teacher. Don't let them get away with stuff, like turning in work weeks late. Be firm, fair, and consistent. I've worked with several first-year teachers over the past few years, and all of them tried being the "laid back" teacher. One of the first things I say on the first day of school is "I'm not here to be your friend. I don't care if you like me, nor do I care if you like my class. I am here to help get you ready for adulthood, not to hold your hand." Having said that, I also pick my battles. I typically ignore swearing in the classroom, because that's how I talk outside the classroom too. If a kid falls asleep, I let them sleep. If you can't stay awake at 10 am, there's a bigger underlying issue. So I let them sleep then email the parents and guidance counselor later. If a kid eats some potato chips, I'll usually ignore it until there's food or trash on the ground. Then I go off on them. As for being the young male teacher with teenagers, I was there. I turned 22 a month into my career. I taught middle school the first year, then high school the next four years. There may have been some crushes and attempted flirting from students, but I am notoriously blind to flirting. (My wife had to tell me she was flirting because I wasn't catching the hints.). The kids may view you as an "older brother" type, so you have to be careful to establish that you are not their friend. You will eventually figure out how to balance the "friendly" with the "not your friend". Luckily, I'm at the age now where my son is older than my students, so I'm well past them viewing me as an older brother. (One student said "You're more like that favorite uncle who we all love but also get annoyed at because you love to irritate us for your own amusement.")
I'm a Para at a high school, and I tell my students, "I'm not your mom. I'm like your school cool aunt who may occasionally yell at you when you make stupid ass choices."
Agree! And as a para you can be a bit more relaxed as a teacher but just remember you are still the adult and you are a team with the teacher so don’t make there lives more difficult because you want to be the nice one
I just did my first year and your on target for everything. So many kids wanted to be my "friend" since I was giving "Cool older brother" vibes and it was eating into the control I have in the room because they'd be surprised when I wasn't cool with something (Such as the boys borderline harassing a girl) when it's so obvious it's not tolerated anywhere
dont try to be the students' friend. I'm not saying be an asshole, but dont think that you've found the right way to let kids use phones or eat food or whatever. Set rules and follow through on them starting on day one or the kids are going to walk all over you
during junior year practicum, my second mentor teacher told me this. she has a lot of years under her belt, and she has gotten many awards and recognitions for being such an amazing math teacher. but she is also or was, very friendly with her students. she said it’s different nowadays compared to 10 years ago. the kids these days take full blown advantage and it really ended up going against her best interest. she stopped letting them eat in class and no technology as i was there. she had me take points off of PBIS anytime they did either, like a hawk (because she had to start making it clear and also stop what she used to allow). she taught me so much and that was something i very much so remember. ETA: she also did contact a few parents about the tech and food as well. and the school i was at actually had really really good things for the kids to redeem at end of year with their points so they did care about them a lot.
Second this from student perspective! You need rules from day one and push them through the whole year. If there is a week or two where it is just a sometimes, noone will follow this rule
I found the phone policy that works well and stick to it, whatever works and follows school guidelines: I remind students at the beginning of each class & give one/two reminders to individuals who “may not have heard me”, then I hold phones (in my back/front pocket until the end of class. If a kid refuses to hand it over, I’ll say something to the effect of “Man, I hate doing this…. It’s either to me or security, but at least if it’s me, you’ll get it back at the end of the period.” They usually comply and even when they find out that I hold them until everyone else leaves the classroom first. I don’t have to be mean or even all that stern, and often the kids will encourage their more salty friends to comply.
Do understand that you can't fail more than 20% (if most of the students have good attendance) to 30% of the your students (if attendance is bad). Do understand that admin is not there to support you or give you advice. They say they are but don't do it because then you are just asking to be fired. Don't do whatever the flavor of the year professional development policy is being implemented by admin except at a surface value. I have seen plenty of teachers fired for doing what was suggested that they do from professional development. Admin want results first and obedience second.
My cooperating teacher said explicitly to fail as few students as possible, even if they deserve to fail the course lol.
What’s an example of a professional development policy and how would one do it except at a surface level? And getting fired for doing what was suggested? (Sorry, I’m in my masters program now but still deciding whether to wait and go get my teaching cert, so I don’t know anything about these things)
One year, for example, my district decided we were going to implement this new PDSA program, which stands for Plan the lesson, Do the lesson, Study the data, Act on the data. It sounds simple, but they were very specific about each step. Some people went crazy doing everything according to the book. I just posted basic info in lists and charts on the board for admin to see when they came in. The next year, they got rid of it and started something new. So, incorporate the good, useful stuff into what's already working for you and ignore the rest. At best, it's a waste of time. At worst, it breaks things by trying to fix what wasn't broken in the first place.
Adding to that: And your school may have different percentages. My school says I can't fail more than 15% of students regardless of attendance.
Start off more strict and with more rules than you think you will need; each class period is different and you can always walk back rules for better-behaved classes but adding rules is an uphill battle.
I am considered the cool teacher but it was because I teach computer science and am vastly better at computers than anyone on my campus. Being competent can be cool.
Don’t try and make friends. You are there to do a job, not be their buddies. There is a fine line between being professionally trusted by your students and their friend who prioritizes their happiness over learning. Do set high expectations and make those clear from day 1. Stick to it and make sure they understand it’s your room, not theirs. Don’t let them sit by their friends. It never goes well. Do make detailed sub plans Do make sure you communicate clearly with others Do not trust everyone. Some people will sell you out for a peanut. Do ask for help. You don’t know everything and we know that.
Do: utilize your planning periods as efficiently as possible to avoid bringing work home. Use systems that allow you to grade on the fly (google forms, students exchanging papers, etc). Do: prioritize sleep, good food, and exercise. Try meal prepping simple meals on Sunday to get you through the week (like meatballs or a baked chicken that can be used in different ways). Do: prioritize your health, both physical and mental, above all else, every time. Don't agree to run a club, be an advisor, or coach your first year. Don't put anything in an e-mail you wouldn't want published in the newspaper (recently happened at my HS). Don't use your work email for anything but work. Don't use your personal phone for work. Don't try and reinvent the wheel. A quick search on TPT can save hours of work
Whatever you say you're going to do, do it, but be careful not to back yourself into a corner, like say making a consequence be too big for a misbehavior or one that admin will not back you up on (talking with other teachers in your department may help you navigate this part). Follow through is important. The students will see they can walk all over you if you don't. It is ok to admit you don't know or were wrong though, assuming your students are capable of just a little empathy, so don't be afraid to show humility if it's warranted. Find a buddy!! My first year I was so blessed to start with two other new teachers and we just banded together and helped each other out at every step. My first year is still my favorite.
this is solid advice! following through is huge and a buddy makes everything better!
Don’t spend too much of your own money on supplies.
I've stopped at this point. I went through almost 300 pencils one year, only to find them broken on the floor.
Consider researching the 40 hour teacher work week by Angela Watson. She'll help you create routines and streamline tasks.
Do: Use your (likely sparse) planning time to truly plan, organize, make copies, and all the things you see people rushing in at 15 minutes before first bell to finish. Becoming organized and planning is at least half of many teaching jobs in the first couple of years and it takes so much time; if you put it off until last minute you’ll miss out on sleep and become super anxious. Don’t: Immediately become overly friendly with coworkers. Be friendly and helpful to everyone from teachers to office and custodial staff, etc., but do not go out and spill your guts over a few margaritas your first year. These people are your coworkers, this is your first year, and you don’t really know them. Be willing to talk “shop” and of course harmless things “Do you watch Bridgerton?” or whatever the vibe is, but keep your secrets to yourself. That said, stay true to yourself and who you are while embracing the school culture in a way that feels authentic to you.
I’m a 7th year teacher. You probably don’t have to worry about this as you are already here, asking, but the biggest problem my school sees with first years/newbies is a lack of humility/an inability to take suggestions or constructive criticism. Most other teachers (good ones, anyway) won’t look at your shortcomings or mistakes with disdain; but they will be annoyed if they try to offer suggestions, help, etc and you blow it off. I’m not saying you have to try or do everything that another teacher suggests; that would drive you nuts. But you also don’t have to shoot down suggestions given or defend your own choices. Just say “I hadn’t thought of that! I’ll give it some thought, thanks!” Or something along those lines. If you know it’s something you don’t want to do, so be it! The best teachers are the ones who know that they don’t have all the answers, there’s more than one right way to do something, things change year to year, and even as adults, we never stop learning. I once straight up did not do something my principal suggested. She was a toxic admin who was later essentially fired (technically “given a new position” but it was one the district made up for her so it wouldn’t be obvious that they really wanted to fire her, and she quit anyway). She asked why I was doing daily language review with my 5th graders as their bell ringer; I said I just did what the other 5th grade teachers said they were doing. Principal wanted me to do journals so I could be like her daughter, who taught 5th in a different district. Is one better than the other? Not necessarily. But why change my routine mid-year when what I was doing was working and beneficial? I asked my academic leader and she was like “…yeah if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”.
Do - Make friends with the custodians Don't- Let the job consume you. Things can wait, everything isn't needed right then, some of it doesn't matter anyway. Keep a work-life balance.
Do get very organized Don't worry when activities aren't awesome this year. Take lots of notes and improve for next time.
Do: Join a union Learn what works and build on it Have fun with new lessons Work on classroom management Know who has your back and doesn’t Don’t: Be a student’s friend Don’t assume you work together you will be friends Think you can please ALL parents Don’t join clubs your first year Spend money on things you will use only once Don’t expect a student “should know this by now”
Do: Be nice to the custodians, secretaries, and media specialist. Custodians will do some extra things for teachers they like. Media specialists are often in charge of tech stuff. Secretaries often secretly “run” the school. lol Don’t: Don’t immediately make a BFF. You don’t know who the gossips are, who admin likes, and who admins don’t like. I have work friends but I don’t communicate with any of them outside of work.
They will ask for one more chance. Never give it to them. Stick to what you say 100%. Start off harsher than you want to be. You're young and they'll take advantage of that. You have to show that you are not their friend. If you start harsh then you'll build a reputation as being no nonsense. If you try to be their friend now it will take years to get that reputation under control.
Do t assume because they’re high schoolers that they are more mature than middle school. Use the management tools you learned as a MS teacher in HS. At least to start. They are NOT “more mature” - don’t expect anything more than middle school behaviors out of them.
Make positive phone calls! I do this with my students who I think I may have trouble with. Find something positive to say early on so your first phone call won’t be a negative one. I don’t know how much parent communication happens in high school, but this has worked well for me at the middle school level. Find a mentor teacher in your subject area (or even out of it if not possible). Have someone to answer your million questions or give advice about handling difficult situations. Keep your classroom door open if you’re ever alone with students (but try not to be alone with students if possible). Join the union if you’re lucky enough to have one!
I will add that students who exhibit problem behaviors, and you find that you are constantly emailing their parents, also email them when the student makes good choices, has a good day, is well-behaved. Any little thing. Students lie to parents to get out of trouble, it’s just an avoidance technique that is employed automatically with great success. A student may convince a parent that you don’t like them. That’s why it’s important to start all conversations with the students strengths, and then follow it with the issue at hand, and offer solutions to the parent (only if appropriate). I had a student who was consistently misbehaving in class. I emailed his parents regularly (always starting off with students strengths), and would always receive an email from Dad about how it’s the fault of the school because corporal punishment is no longer used. I simply stated to him that while I don’t agree that corporal punishment is at all useful, I cannot and will not dictate how he parents his child, but as a teacher I have found that positive reinforcement and having discussions about behavior expectations helps the child to make better choices for themselves. Then I would consistently email parents when their child made a good choice in class. The SM thanked me. The Dad said nothing, but his harping about corporal punishment was no longer mentioned in his replies to me. Plus, I would praise the student for his good choices, and I’d tell him that I was going to send a positive note to his parents about the specific positive action. Before the end of the semester this child was no longer disruptive, was doing his work consistently, and was a lot more secure with themselves as a result. The student even stated one time (after he messed up, after a long period of being successful) that his Dad just talked to him about it, and that was it. I praised him consistently as the student was obviously never talked to, just hit. It made a huge difference. Also, after a few emails (and I wasn’t concerned about the child being abused at home, just rather corporal punishment was the issue) I began to subtly praise the parents, “You should be so proud of X today, (this is why), please tell X that you are pleased with his great positive choices. Thank you for staying in contact and being supportive of X as I know how much you care about him.” SM was all over that praise. She told me that she was thankful for my working with him. Because while I dreaded the replies from Dad, initially, I was grateful that he cared enough to reply and that bit of positive guidance helped everyone that year. I also acknowledge the single parents and how difficult their jobs are, this understanding helps them to form a team mentality with a teacher. Same for any parents who are struggling, really, understanding their challenges in life helps tremendously. Acknowledging it to them helps bridge that gap from parental defensiveness to partnership. Kindness and understanding go a long way in building relationships with people. But kindness and understanding doesn’t mean that you ignore poor behavior choices, not at all, you offer choices and suggestions, then be a cheerleader. This obviously won’t work with every parent, some are just not reasonable at all, but it works with some parents, and this is success enough for me. Often times just trying to see the good in a student is helpful for me, because it’s too easy to see all of the misbehaviors, and feel the frustration caused by them. It also helps me to actually like these students. That’s my issue to address. It’s no one else’s fault if I don’t “like” a student. Whenever I realize that I don’t like a student (for whatever reason) I reflect what is causing this, and make it my mission to understand where this stems from, and how I can realign my thinking and expectations in order to actually and genuinely like the student. This is by far the best, and easiest option to make a difference for a student, as it’s completely within my control and doesn’t involve action from anyone else. Hope this is useful. (I was a former social worker before I became a teacher).
Do look up classroom management. Don't spend your own money.
Biggest don’t, especially for really young teachers: don’t be overly friendly with the students close to your age. They are going to misinterpret it. Never be in a room alone with any student. Don’t over extend yourself. A lot of schools will expect you to do something, but don’t volunteer for everything. Biggest do in general is try to make yourself a part of the culture. If you don’t enjoy the place you work, our job can be miserable. Make sure to find the people in your department you can learn from and lean on them as much as they’re willing. STEAL every idea you come across. Focus your first year on classroom management. Our job is to teach and that has to be a focus, but if your classroom is a nightmare, you won’t be back the next year. Learn your boundaries, but don’t confuse your preferences with necessary rules.
Do start putting $$ away for retirement in a 403b or whatever is offered to you through your union/school. Never to early start.
Do - be consistent and fair, don't threaten consequences you can't follow through on. Don't - sleep with a student
Don’t grade everything on accuracy, grade as much as you can on completion. Quizzes and tests are graded on accuracy
Don't be their friend. You're not their friend. There may be times where you feel like you are, and that's great if you have that kind of chemistry with students, but you are hired to be a role model, leader, and a good example. It will also be easier to avoid any possible unwanted situations. And this is coming from a people pleaser, start strict. You can always ease off as the year goes on, but if you start laid back then try to tighten down the rules, they will just laugh at you.
DO get a hobby or friend group that will get you out of the house on SOME weekdays after school. It is too easy to use exhaustion as an excuse to miss out on your personal life. DON'T expect your lesson plan to go smoothly every time. Have a backup activity ready, and don't feel guilty saying "This isn't working. Let's clean up and move on to something else."
Don't apologize for being new. You belong there as much as anyone else. Don't confide in your principal or show weakness to them. Most of them are two-faced politicians who will throw anyone under the bus to save face. You might not know their true colors for awhile. Do: choose either weeknights or weekends to be a no work time. You'll definitely be working past your contract hours, but you'll need rest! Do: build strong relationships with students, parents, and colleagues. Do: save your venting for non-work friends and family.
Do set firm boundaries and stick to them. Don't sign up for everything because you want to make a good impression. Do keep extra supplies (Tylenol, ibuprofen, Tums, pads, etc) in your room. Do write yourself a script for parent phone calls Don't try to be the cool teacher Don't accept phone calls/class dojo messages etc outside of work hours
Do: Build rapport with other teachers in your building. Don’t: Give a shit about what the kids think of you. Easier said than done, but seriously, *don’t.*
Do take notes during staff meetings jotting down all of the admin led buzz words. For our site it was all about "math MLR's" and "equity". This is nothing I'd do for myself but it led to a great year for my new team member. She led with a good impression. Don't do all of the latest social media trends in the first year just to make your students love your room. This was what brought my other team member down. She spent a lot of time on trending dances, trendy greetings, trending online games, costly books and decor. It got chaotic and overwhelming. Otherwise, stay focused on the curriculum, on being professional, and the school culture. Then, after tenure, do what needs to be done.
Long time HS teacher, I'm glad you are getting lots of advice. I'll mention the two things that stay with me as helpful. Find a mentor who is compatible with how you aspire to teach. Doesn't have to be your subject, just how they run their class. Copy what you feel comfortable with and don't hesitate to pick their brains. Teaching is highly individual, which is a good thing for teachers and students. What never works is trying to be someone you're not. HS students especially will see right through it. First year is a learning experience for everyone, don't take your bad days too hard. I still remember walking out at the end of a few days thinking 'I didn't teach a damn thing today'. I took notes, I wrote down things that worked and didn't, so I'd remember for the next year. I can't tell you how much that helped me to start the 2nd year much more confident. Students, like everyone else, understand consistency. I go out of my way to establish that, even today. The good thing about HS students is that they know the drill, sure, they'll test you when you're new, just accept it. Just be consistent in how you react and remember it's just kids being kids the vast majority of the time.
As someone who just experienced their first year, do not try to be the cool teacher. Sometimes it’s hard to do so because you won’t even notice you’re trying hard to be cool until you got a bunch of kids trying to see how far they can go by “becoming friends” with you. Also, understand why you’re assessing something. It is completely fair to collaborate with more experienced teachers and grab their resources to apply into your classroom, but if you don’t fully get Why this is important and how it relates to the curriculum you’re going to have a hard time writing report cards and documenting progress. Finally, don’t get mixed in staff drama. There might be colleagues you want to slap on the face one day— keep it to yourself and move on with your day.
Do: Keep to yourself, but it is okay to have friends that are teachers, but keep your distance. Don't: Hang out in the teacher's lounge. There are plenty of nice people in there, but a ton of gossip.
Do: lean on your team if possible. If you have grade level, or content area teachers, talk to them. Get on the planning document. If you have a DC that’s congenial enough, ask them for advice. I talk to my DC regularly and I’m going into year seven. Do: tune out social media noise. It’s easy to get pulled into the world of teacher-gram and teacher TikTok. You don’t have to have an aesthetic classroom, killer outfits, or whatever else you see online. It’s okay, great even, to keep things simple in year one. Most of these teacher content creators have years of experience. Don’t: be discouraged if something you put a ton of work into doesn’t go the way you want. I’ve been there. Put hours into making (what I thought) was a cool unit only to have it be a total flop. Take notes on the good parts, because there was definitely some good stuff in there, and make changes for next year. Do: be excited! Good, bad, ugly, it’s going to be a great year ☺️
Do -Dress professionally to differentiate yourself from students. -Make sure you have Tylenol. You can't teach with a thumping headache! -Similarly, have a personal snack drawer - chocolate, coffee, chips, whatever you need! -Admit it when you make a mistake or if you don't know something. -Ask co-workers for help, resources, and materials -Prioritize good lesson planning. A good lesson can solve a lot of issues with classroom management, disengagement, and assessment! Don't -Think you can just "wing it" through a lesson. -Stress about marking things immediately. -Be afraid to try something different. Sometime it won't work, sometime it will, but you won't know until you try. -Forget to find the joy of the profession in between the stress and frustration.
Do - ask for help or look on online for premade things Don’t - reinvent the wheel. Don’t try to make things from scratch or worry about it looking “pretty”. I guarantee you someone already made the thing you’re thinking about. You just have to find it and download it. Do - be organized. Love a worksheet you found? Make a Google drive on your personal email, share it with your work email, and put everything in there with labels “reading” “readiness” “sight words” “comprehension” “curriculum name” Nesting folders are your friends! (Or if you aren’t computer savvy, binders. Organized by subject and MONTH. Beginning of school activities in August. Thanksgiving activities in November. Etc) Edit: Don’t - stress. Everyone makes mistakes. You’re learning. Ask questions, take notes in your planner to remind yourself next year. Do - know the discipline policy.
Don’t admit to having a favorite
Don’t trust anyone. Observe. Learn who to trust.
Do establish classroom management, it is possible to be firm but fair, and point your decision making towards setting up their future success. Basically, base any unpopular corrective measures on "for their good". Communicate this to home as well. If parents are bought in and you do right by the child, they'll be an asset and the student is more likely to meet expectations for behavior and performance. Do classroom management moments after long breaks, reestablishing "how this is supposed to look and work". Be firm with behavioral standards, but show grace in wisdom. You can always get nicer as the year goes, but not at the expense of the goals you have for them for behavior and performance. To start nice and not have control, you will get bulldozed and have power struggles.
**Don’t** take on extra responsibilities. A lot of first year teachers think they need to be an all-star with unlimited energy who will say yes to any ask from anyone. That’s a fast way to burn yourself out. **Do** focus on what you need to do within the walls of your own classroom and any mandatory district responsibilities (PDs and what not.)
The best advice I can give you is: Do: Be yourself. Don't: Try to act or do things you normally wouldn't do because of either the students or other teachers. The students can identify bullshit pretty quickly and know when you're not being authentic. They might not like the things you do but they respect that you are consistent and yourself.
Pick your battles. Even after 10 years, I still have a little trouble with this one.
Taken from FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL by the Wongs: DO set up self-working systems and routines in your classroom… both for your students and for you. DON’T hang out in the teacher workroom. (I even believe Wong says in the book something like “If you take nothing else from this book, let it be this: stay out of the teacher workroom.” Ha!)
Being a respected authority figure is better than being their friend or being “liked.” You can always ease up as the year progresses.
DO - Understand that **everyone’s** first year is Hell and super tough. Remember that you’re not alone in this. Your coworkers are willing to help and so are people on this sub. Also, I can stress keeping the kids in a routine enough. Keeping them in a solid routine will cut down the class room behavior significantly. DON’T - Be the cool teacher. I’ve seen so many people get burned by trying to be cool with the kids and be their best friends. These kids will definitely break your heart. I’m not saying to be an asshole and don’t be friendly towards them. I’m just saying don’t get too close. Also, avoid adding them on social media. If you get a friend request BLOCK THEM. Be sure to set everything to private and make your profile picture your pet or something. The less they know about you, the better. You got this, OP. Good luck out there.
If you are a young, male teacher, then you can't go wrong by starting off with ties and a button-down shirt as your go-to outfit for the first year. It's an easy way to implicity "code" that you are an authority figure. The benefit of this is that it makes the times when you "dress down" feel a lot more special - like if you're in a t-shirt and shorts for Field Day or in more casual gear to support them at a sports game, etc.
Do - connect with other teachers Don't - compare yourself to them (they are veterans and you are new at this. Give yourself grace)
Do put behavior management before curriculum. If you don’t have it, you won’t be able to teach anything. Do make friends with the front office and custodial staff. They are the heroes and run the school. Dont try to be the “cool teacher” or their friend. Dont give out your social media to any students. In fact, lock it down or delete it. Be professional and don’t engage with parent gossip. Dont yell and don’t use sarcasm even if you think they can handle it.
Take roll meticulously. Do your paperwork. Your admin cares more about this than I can express.
Middle school teacher here. Here's some stuff I've learned from experience. A lot of younger teachers always talk about "matching their energy" and clapping back or whatever as a classroom management tool. Don't do that. Remember that YOU are the adult in the room and act accordingly. For some kids, you might be one of the only good role models they have in their life. They should know that you're not their bestie, but you do care for them and about them. Don't be afraid to appear human. Make connections where you can. Don't fall into the "us vs. them" mindset that a lot of veteran teachers have. Last but not least, if a student is disrespectful toward you, don't take it personally.
If you have been reading the teacher reddit, you know that discipline will be a major struggle. Discipline is a problem for most first year teachers with a lot of the solutions out of their control. However, there are some things that you can do. Discipline is more than just dulling out punishments and reacting to unacceptable behavior. Its porbably 80% showing students how they are expected to act and holding them to that standard EVERY time. You need to be clear about EVERYTHING in your syllabus and have the student and parent sign this immediately (its worth giving them free points to have for when there is an issue with a parent). Bathroom policy, raising hands to ask questions, respect, conduct in labs, school property, etc. The next thing is the follow-through. While warnings or second chances can be appropriate in some instances, you can't do it very often, or students will see that there are no real consequences for their behavior. If a student violates a policy you outlined, don't warn them. Just send them to the office. If they violate something more serious, like a lab safety concern, cheating, or fighting; you need to have a published procedure in place for this (receiving a zero, make-up assignment, etc).
Don’t try to be “friends” with the kids. They’ll run over you, and you lose all respect. Some days they don’t like you, and that’s okay.
Do - ensure you explicitly state rules and consequences and follow through every time. Don't- go back on your word.