A Few Words to New Teachers

Congratulations! If you have decided to become a teacher you have answered a noble calling. Teaching can also be grueling, thankless, and difficult work. When I decided to become a teacher two years ago I was a little panicked. I had no formal training as a teacher so I sought out more experienced teachers to hear their advice. I've decided to compile a list of advice I received and lessons I have learn along the way.

*Obviously not all advice is applicable in every situation, with every age group, or with every teacher.

Go in hard:
The biggest bit of advice I heard over and over was this: go in hard. No one wants to be mean teacher. And we all want our students to like us more than other teachers and be excited to go to class. This part can come later and it won't come at all if your classroom is in disorder. It is much easier to easy up on rules and discipline than it is too try to implement it later after bad habits have developed. I heard this advice over and over. I even believed it with all my heart. It took about two weeks for me to realize that I hadn't followed it and I had the exact situation I was trying to avoid. I wanted my students to like me and thus I was lax about homework and discipline and hated giving out detention. I had a class that went running and screaming through the library, knocking over chairs and throwing books. I had failed to instill discipline and order in my class. Doing so retro-actively was hard, painful, and much more unpleasant than it is to do so from the first class.

Discipline:
Make sure the discipline method you use is in proportion to the offense and not a result of your bad mood. I have found that group enforcement is great for older students. Each of my classes would get a certain number of stars at the beginning of class. If a student broke one of the rules written on the bored than a star was lost. If the class had three stars left at the end of class they got to play a game. If they had no stars left they got extra homework. This method helped to keep my most difficult class in line. Be firm with the rules but allow students to appeal to you in private. Nothing feels quite as bad as giving a kid detention for not doing homework only then to learn from another teacher that their grandma died over the weekend.

Consistency:
Now, upon entering a new class, I immediately write the classroom rules on the board and discuss what the punishments are for disobeying those rules. Rules should be universally enforced. You don't want to gain a reputation for being unfair or inconsistent. Reward all accomplishments equally and punish all misbehavior equally. The truth is that we all have preferences for some students and hold grudges against others. It is important that our behavior as teachers not display favoritism or prejudice. This can be harder than you think.

Never yell:
This one can be hard but it is important. Yelling is a sign that you have lost total control over the class and your students will know it. If you are teaching ESL students they might not understand you when you yell and this makes it rather comical for them. Not the effect you were probably looking for. Speak clearly, firmly, and evenly. I have even found that after you have their attention and the noise has died down, lowering your voice helps (a trick learned from my father).

Ritual:
When teaching young students nothing helps quite as much as instilling ritual. Young children have an easier time staying focused and in control if they know what is coming every time. Start each class with the same opening ritual that they can participate in. This can be boring as hell for the teacher but it makes a huge difference in classroom management.

Lesson planning:
As a new teacher nothing helps get through a class quite as much as a detailed lesson plan. You don't want to be too inflexible but until you learn the pace of your class and have the material memorized it can help to have detail plans. Also, plan more than you need. Classes will often go by slower than you thought at first and few things are as awful as running out of material 20 minutes before the end of class.

Remember that you are the single biggest determiner of a good class. If you go into the class with a bad mood there is little chance of having a good class. If you have a bad class promise yourself you will do better next time and let it go. Dwelling too much won't help anything. Be forgiving of your students and yourself and let every day be a chance for a new start for all of you.