Tag: new classroom
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28. When a Student is Moving Away
When a student is moving away, she will be sure and tell you before it is her last day. I could always sense the angst of a student who was acclimated to our classroom when she thought about starting over in a new place where she knew no one. One thing I implemented that seemed…
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27. Field Trips
My dissertation research explored what constituted lasting learning. I discovered that students remembered immersive experiences and especially field trips. Where you go on a field trip is not the only venue for learning that day. Children will be responsible for staying with their group. They will negotiate relationships with friends while riding the bus. They…
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24. Indulge Culture
It is kind of a bonus if you have some beautiful diversity among your students. In most classes, there are children who speak other languages, children who subscribe to different faiths, and children from multiple races and cultures. Honor every culture represented by making a child your resident expert on Jewish traditions, Muslim holidays, Buddhist…
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25. Stay. In. Your. Lane.
Minding your own business is a full time job. Stay employed. You don’t have the time to hang out in the teacher’s work room and learn who is going through a divorce, who has been flirting with the PE coach or how that teacher lost so much weight. Yes, gossip is alive in every workplace…
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26. Fire Drills
Go ahead and plan on it. You will have one fire drill per month that you teach school unless you don’t do it correctly, then you will have more than one a month. Fire drills are as predictable as the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance. Older children know the drill while younger children…
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23. Allergies and Medical Needs
Allergies are no joke. When I was in school, I don’t remember any student being catered to for any specific dietary needs but times have changed. If a child is allergic to peanuts and is offered peanut butter cookies as a snack, you could have an epi-pen emergency on your hands. It is your…
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22. Restroom Protocol
Arguably, this is the least desirable thing a teacher is required to do in the daily performance of her duties. Nobody likes to take children to the restroom. First, you have to monitor the restroom and the children to prevent mischief from happening there. Second, you have to walk a line of children to the…
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21. Consider
Consider. I love this word. Instead of telling someone what to do, I ask them to consider something else. It softens a command to a request. It is effective for teachers, students, and parents. Instead of telling a parent, “You need to have a certain time every day to read to your child,” say “Consider…
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20. Evaluations
You are probably fully aware of how you will be evaluated as a teacher. If you are new to a grade level, a school, a district, or a state, you will most likely have more evaluations per year than someone who has been teaching the same grade in the same school for fifteen years. You…
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19. When an Administrator Tells You Something You Have Done Wrong; Just Own It.
Unless you are some type of cyborg, you are going to make mistakes. All humans make mistakes and it is the foundation of learning. When someone tells you that you sent the form home on the wrong day or you were not on your duty post by the time the bell rang, just own it.…
Fire Drills 