The Happy Learning Den

This school year will be my 19th year teaching!  This blows my mind because I can still remember my first year teaching!  It's forever ago and just yesterday all rolled up into one.  It's strange and rewarding realizing you're not the newbie anymore.

I feel strongly about helping new teachers.  When I was brand new I was incredibly blessed with amazing colleagues who guided me throughout my entire first year.  Then when I switched districts, and went through the new teacher program again... I was once again blessed with AMAZING teachers/ colleagues who have become dear friends too.  I know that I am incredibly lucky, because I have heard horrific stories from my friends in other schools.

I hope that you will share this with a new teacher or a college student going through the teacher program, or, if you are a veteran that you will share tips and advice that have helped you to become the expert you are today.


1.  Set a reasonable time to leave school every day and stick to it!
There is ALWAYS more work that can be done at school.  It will still be there tomorrow.  Trust me, I know it's hard to leave it at home.  I am guilty of taking work home myself.  But last year I broke the vicious cycle.  At the beginning of the school year, I would bring work home... but I left it in the car.  I would joke with my friends that the papers were taking a "field trip."  By the end of the school year, I didn't take any work home.  If it wasn't done by the time I set for myself, I would do it the next day!  Of course, this means that I didn't follow the contractual hours... the hours that I am paid to work (7:30 - 3:00).  I arrived at school most days around 6:45, which gave me 45 minutes of uninterrupted grading time.  I also stayed at work until 4:30 (1.5 hours extra) to grade, contact parents, write lesson plans, collaborate with others, post bulletin boards, etc. etc. etc.  This way I didn't need to bring things home.  Just make sure you stay on top of deadlines!  

2.  Stock an emergency drawer in your desk or bottom of your file cabinet.
You will spend so much time in your classroom it will feel like you live there.  Keeping some thought out essentials in your desk will save you from those little life-curveballs that may happen.  Here's what I keep in mine: deodorant, dental floss, lip gloss, small mirror, extra birthday cards and thank you cards, chocolate, long shelf-life snacks, breath mints, maxi-pads, hairbrush, hair clip, spare phone charger, compact umbrella.  I also keep a sweater on my desk chair in case the weather outside changes suddenly or I get a chill.

3.  Document ALL parent and administrator contact.
I am going to be brutally honest here.  I still struggle with this one AND I was given this same advice my first year!  It is tedious, but it is essential.  Get a simple notebook at the back to school sales.  (I used a composition notebook last year.)  Before you leave each day, write down the date, who you had contact with, and a few sentences to remind you of the most important points to help jog your memory.  Angela Watson has a great Freebie at Teachers Pay Teachers you can use. 

4.  Prepare Emergency Substitute Plans now so you are ready for any unexpected illnesses or family emergencies during the school year.
This is one of those things that you and your fellow teachers will be grateful for during the school year.  In my school, we are required to have emergency plans for the inevitable.  I keep a "Sub Tub" behind my desk with two types of emergency plans.  One is for if a substitute comes, and the other is sets of work in case my class needs to be split up into the other classes.  Work they can complete on their own without the aide of the teacher whom they will be spending the day with in your absence.  I include an attendance sheet and which teacher they should go to.

5.  Don't compare yourself to veteran teachers.
I think I am a pretty great teacher.  My students learn a lot every year.  However, I'm human.  Sometimes I look at what other teachers are doing, and I feel inadequate.  These teachers change out their bulletin boards monthly others bi-weekly.  They have students fill out applications for the jobs they want, and then have neat job titles like Classroom Librarian, Errand Runner, Doorman, etc. They have a classroom currency system where they can buy things like pencils, erasers, trips to the prize box, etc.
I am not those teachers, and that's ok!  Those things don't work for me as a teacher.  I do plenty of other things really well, and over time, you will realize that so do you.

6. Post instructions as often as possible on the board.
I know this sounds like something you would/ should only do for students in grades K - 3, but writing out expectations of what needs to be done upon entering the classroom makes my morning calmer. I have found that students behave much better when they know exactly what is expected of them.  They have the same procedure every morning when they enter my classroom.  They always unpack first, then copy their homework, and then they begin an activity.  This allows me to take attendance and do all those little housekeeping things that need to be done each morning, and students are engaged.  Every morning I have written on the board:
                    Do Now
                1. Unpack  [I don't allow my students to go into their book bag 1,000 times a day.  I limit it                                    to in the morning when they are unpacking, before we go to lunch, and then                                          again when we pack at the end of the day.]
                2. Copy Homework
                3. This is where I write down the activity I want them to complete.

7. Procedures!  Know what you want students to do and have them practice!!!
The first three weeks of school are key to the success of your entire year.  You have two choices.  Either set your students up for success: your classroom runs efficiently and children are safe.  Or set your students up for failure, let them get away with whatever they want, and then book yourself a permanent private suite at a psychiatric facility.  It's your choice.

You need to know exactly how you want everything done, and then have students practice the heck out of it.  What do I mean by everything?  You name it... there needs to be a procedure for it.
The way students enter and leave your classroom,  lining up, walking in line, when they can use the bathroom (never while I am giving instructions), how often they can use the bathroom, when they can sharpen their pencils, when and if they can borrow a pencil from you, how to turn in papers, how to write their heading, participating in group lessons, using the class library, visitors in the classroom, fire drills, helping other students, what to do if they are finished, etc.

I personally recommend that every new teacher reads the book, The First Days of School by Harry Wong.

Have a great year!
Love,
Sandra @The Happy Learning Den