New Teacher Diaries

A list of tips and tricks

by C Mitchell

Mar 15, 2007 12:20 PM

When I came to this middle school at the beginning of the school year, no one showed me the ropes and yet I was expected to already know the rules. It’s not like a regular job where on your first day, someone trains you, shows you around and gives you the employee handbook. There was no such handbook and boy, could I have used it! It would have kept me out of a lot of trouble if I had known the protocol and the school culture. I wish someone would have informed me about what not to do and what to do.

Reflecting on my experience, I’ve come up with a list of tips and tricks that I could have used back in September.

1. What’s my motivation? Any actor asks this question when getting into character. Teachers are actors and every day is a performance. It’s important to know what your motivation for teaching is before you do the job. Keeping this motivation in mind will carry you through the hard times when you’re on the brink of quitting.
2. Make friends. You’ll need a buddy at your new school — someone to share gripes, lunch, coffee and possibly after-work drinks. Talking with someone at your school will give you strength; you won’t feel so alone and you may gain new insights. It’s especially important to make friends with the school secretary, who is a walking database of all things DOE. If the school’s office handles the copying, be sure to be nice to these staff members. It doesn’t hurt to chummy up with the principal and the assistant principal either. Definitely try to stay on the good side of the administration.
3. Know the rules and protocols. Find out your school’s particular protocols and all the DOE rules right away. You’ll especially want to know about taking days off, leaving school early, preps, etc. This could save you avoidable skirmishes with the administration.
4. Embrace paper and stay organized. I’m buried under a deluge of dead trees. The paperwork never ends. Form this, form that. Get folders and file, file, file. Save copies of everything. You never know when you’ll need it. Medical records, certifications, even lesson plans or grade reports. And, tattoo your file number to your forehead.
5. Keep accurate records. Cover yourself. Leave a paper trail of your accomplishments as a teacher. Save copies of some of your students’ work. Keep track of their progress with daily logs. Document everything — meetings, phone calls, behaviors, letters home. You could be called upon to produce evidence of your performance in the future.
6. Prioritize. Get an organizer or calendar to plan your units and meetings. Have a daily or weekly punch list and do the important and most pressing tasks first.
7. Take care of yourself. It’s tempting to neglect yourself when swamped with work and stressed out. You need to be in top shape to teach every day. Get plenty of sleep, eat right, and have fun on the weekends. It’s important to have a rich life outside of school to refresh yourself. Also, treat yourself to nice lunches. I highly recommend taking vitamins and eating yogurt to ward off colds and viruses. Wash your hands frequently, use a hand sanitizer and disinfect your classroom. My school is a petri dish. I’ve never been so sick in my life until I was exposed to kids’ germs!
8. Get parents on your side. Enlist their help. When your students are missing homework or performing poorly, call the parents to get them involved. Usually, they are more than happy to hear your concern.
9. Think like a student. Try to get inside their heads to see what motivates them. Find out their interests and incorporate that in your lesson plans. Try to remember what it was like to be their age so you won’t be overly demanding in your expectations. Remember, they’re just kids.
10. Stay cool. Try not to get angry at your students even as they push your buttons. They are always trying to push the boundaries. De-escalate as much as possible and pick your battles.
11. Use available resources. The Internet is loaded with Web sites for teachers. Many Web sites are subject-matter specific and contain lesson plans, rubrics, tests, curricula and worksheets. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel; it’s out there.
12. Use your Teacher’s Choice money wisely. All teachers are given some money each year from the DOE to spend on their classes. Don’t blow it all the first month. Find out what the school has and needs. See if the PTA can chip in, too, before making any major purchases. Get to know your students and then see what would be most suitable for classroom instruction.
13. Join the union. The UFT can represent you if you get into any trouble at school so get to know your chapter leader at your school. The union can also answer all your questions about salary differentials, pension, health care and disability. It also throws nice parties with good food for new teachers.
14. Have a savings account. One of the teachers at my school did not get paid for the first few weeks because of a glitch in the system. Make sure you’ve got a cushion to fall back on in case of emergencies or in case you decide to quit and need to find a new job.
15. Keep old contacts. You may find that you aren’t cut out to be a teacher. If you are a career changer, don’t curse out your old boss on your last day of work since you may find yourself asking for your old job back. I know many first-year teachers who quit in the first semester. One of them is now a dog walker.
16. Have fun! Hey, if you’re not having fun, it’s not worth it. Teaching should be enjoyable for you and your students. If it isn’t fun, it’s time to get out.
17. Have a sense of humor. Laughter goes a long way. Don’t take yourself or your job too seriously. Look for the humor in the situation to keep your sanity.

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CMitchell is the pseudonym of a first-year middle school math teacher in Manhattan. A version of this post first appeared on edwize.org, where New Teacher Diaries is a regular feature.