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Great
Expectations: Helpful Hints for Beginning Teachers
- by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D.
No one knows better
than a first year teacher that the beginning of the school year bristles
with anticipation-and not just for the kids. The weeks before school are
often filled with unsettling visions: "When the door closes and all
those faces are looking up at me, will I have something to say?"
"Will I ever be able to fill all those hours until lunch?"
"What if a parent comes to meet me and can only say, 'You're the
teacher?!" "Am I going to be able to keep the vows I made to
myself to treat my students in a fair and loving way?"
There are many scary,
empty feelings to face just before your identity of "Teacher"
comes true. To put those worries in perspective, take a moment and
fantasize; picture your idea of a perfect first year. Imagine how you
want to feel, the climate of your classroom, and some of the ideals you
have set for yourself. This vision can be a big help in your personal
goal-setting process.
Most beginning
teachers want to be competent and creative in a classroom where students
are inquisitive and on task. They envision themselves as flexible and
fun, enjoying their job, respected by parents, and looked upon as a
valuable addition by their school staff.
These are great
expectations-and important ones. But it is also important not to let your
expectations put undue pressure on you! Here are suggestions to turn your
beginning teacher's dreams into achievable goals.
I Want My Students
to Behave
Even though you know
you have the ability to think of a dynamic lesson and design a terrific
bulletin board, it's hard to feel as confident about "managing"
a roomful of students. More teachers than not, at some time, have
reflected, "These kids must not like me at all because if they did,
they would never act like this! What am I doing wrong?" Beginning teachers
are often torn between wanting to develop a friendly relationship with
their students and fearing that doing so will ultimately undo their sense
of authority. Not true! Your students need and want to believe that
you're responsible and in charge, but you can be very friendly, warm, and
personal and still be the "adult."
You can create a warm
and positive climate in your classroom by identifying and considering
your students' needs and interests. You can meet students' needs for
belonging and control by involving them in decisions that concern them.
For example, allow students to choose which assignment to do first or
even with whom they would like to work (as long as everyone stays on
task). Simply being able to make choices may give some of your students a
real boost of confidence and often improves the chances for cooperation.
Plus, making choices is an important step toward developing individual
responsibility.
Often beginning
teachers feel insecure when other teachers walk by their open classroom
door or the principal passes by their class in the lunch line. Sometimes
it's hard not to panic and think, "I know I would look like a better
teacher if my students were not so noisy." It's true that part of
your competence as a teacher will be reflected by your students'
behavior, but certainly not all of it. Try not to jump to conclusions
when other people probably have not. Your primary concern is the overall
climate in which you and your students coexist.
A very important
challenge for you will be the ability to separate who your students are
from the behaviors they exhibit, especially their negative or disruptive
behaviors. In other words, can you still perceive the student as worthy
of your attention and care even though she forgot her homework again;
walked away from a mess he made, or even said your assignment was stupid?
Your ability to recognize that the students are not their behaviors will
allow you to accept them without necessarily accepting those behaviors.
Be sure, too, that
your students have plenty to do. Always have a set of "emergency
plans," quick and easy backups for when things don't quite go as
expected-or take as long as you had hoped. Over plan! Undirected kids
have a way of turning time on their hands into classroom disruptions.
Finally, a classroom
atmosphere that emphasizes responsibility and cooperation, in which you
model the positive behaviors you would like them to demonstrate, tends to
minimize the kids of resistance and rebellion that lead to so many
classroom conflicts.
I Want my
Classroom to Run Smoothly
Time management and
classroom planning are always more challenging for new teachers. You may
never have had to deal with certain management issues before. Policies
regarding school attendance and lunch count, home visits, and field trips
are not necessarily things you are expected to know, so ask! Everyone
else had to at some point, and being aware of these policies will
immediately make life easier.
Another realization
will help, too, on days that unexpectedly turn hectic: It may be your
students-not you-who are being overwhelmed. Sometimes a great learning
experience goes down the tubes simply because the students do not have
the independence and basic learning skills necessary to do the work.
Don't assume that your students have down pat such basic skills as
listening, being prepared, and putting their materials away when they're
finished. While it may seem time-consuming to have students practice
these skills, devoting time to them at the beginning, even finding ways
to make a game of them, will save all of you many hours and much grief
later.
Even your own
enthusiasm and creativity can be a problem at times. On days when
children seem hyper, ask yourself if you have contributed to the problem.
Overdoses of enthusiasm may be too much for your kids to handle. After
collecting ideas and materials during your teacher training, it's hard
not to want to try everything at once. Be careful to avoid the tendency
to present too much too soon, or make too many changes before your kids can
handle them. Save some of your more incredible activities for slower
times, when they'll be appreciated and when your students can handle
them. You don't want to run out of steam in the first week!
Start slowly and
simply. Establish a daily routine your kids can handle. Leave room for
some student decision-making, but be careful to not overwhelm. Your
students may not have much skill or confidence with decision-making yet
so avoid offering too many choices, or choices that are too open-ended,
at least in the beginning. Once you and your class feel comfortable with
one another and understand basic expectations, you can expand available
options.
Remember, too, that
you will always run into events you simply cannot plan for or control. As
the newcomer on staff, you may be the one who has to cope with major
changes, including the possibility of class changes or even being moved
to a whole new grade level a few weeks into the school year. At the very
least you will have to accommodate new students, transfers, pullouts,
equipment failures, and last-minute schedule changes. This demands
confidence, flexibility, and, most important, a sense of humor. Nobody
likes these inconveniences, even seasoned veterans. Hang in there and
don't hesitate to ask others to share their specific strategies for
coping with these problems.
I Want my Students
to Succeed
Everyone needs to
succeed. In order to take the kinds of risks necessary to learn and grow,
your students must perceive that success is within their reach. This
means you need to learn more about your students' interests, cognitive
abilities, and learning skills. You may eventually want to vary your
methods of instruction to include in small groups, learning centers,
individualized assignments, and student-teacher conferences. Yet managing
these strategies will require self-management skills your students may
not have. While teaching these skills may appear a rather challenging
task, keep in mind that the more independent and responsible your
students become, the more you'll be able to accomplish together all year.
Start slowly and keep
things simple. Let your students know when they may and may not come to
you with questions, and, if you aren't available to help, offer them the
option of asking a classmate. Keep independent work and routines
relatively simple at first-things the kids can do on their own. While
some of these assignments may seem like "busywork" to you,
remember that your intention is building confidence, independence, and
self-management. You've got a whole year to focus on content! It takes
time, energy, and practice to establish these skills and routines. As the
students become better able to work on their own, you will be able to
make the work more meaningful by increasing the variety of materials, the
number of choices, the amount of work required, and the intellectual
processes required.
Your patience,
acceptance, and persistence communicate to your students that it's okay
if everything isn't perfect right away. They will be encouraged to keep
trying. Focusing on the positive-even when it seems as though a student
has done just about everything wrong-will provide security for your whole
class, as well as the motivation to do it better next time. While it may
seem much more effective to criticize, criticism tends to be judgmental
and demeaning. It feeds self-doubts that can ultimately restrict growth
in all students, not just in the one being criticized. Despite the belief
many teacher hold that criticism is necessary for learning, a positive
focus is far more effective.
To illustrate,
imagine a story that a student has written with many misspellings,
punctuation errors, incomplete sentences, and no capital letters. Instead
of pulling out the red pen and noting every mistake, look for something
the child has done right, perhaps excellent handwriting or an interesting
title. Then defy tradition by using the errors as a basis for your
instruction-instead of a bad grade. You might say, "Let's work on
where to use capital letters now." By not simply drawing attention
to failures on the assignment, you are far less likely to discourage or
alienate your students. Start with what they're doing well and teach them
the rest! You may really have to look for good points sometimes, but your
positive focus will be tremendously encouraging and appreciated.
I Want to be
Accepted as Part of the Staff
Your sense of
acceptance in your school community plays a big part in your feelings
about your work. Establishing your sense of belonging can be facilitated
by your ability to "blend in" without sacrificing your
individuality. The transition from being a student to being a
professional is more a function of how you see yourself. The way you
interact with other people on staff reflects your self-image. In relating
to your principal, the parents of your students, and your peers, the
greater your sense of yourself as a professional, the more likely others
will perceive and treat you as one.
Respect the existing
relationships and dynamics, but at the same time be open and friendly,
initiate conversations, and gradually get to know individuals. Be
cautious in setting expectations or making demands of others. Make
sincere offers to help, share ideas and materials, and participate in
school and social activities.
On the other hand,
don't forget to listen to how much of your conversation is about you.
Tune in to whether you are consistently complaining about students,
school policy, other teachers, or parents. Lack of confidence usually
presents itself in the form of continuous apologies and explanations, or
arrogance. Apologies suggest that "everyone seems to know what
they're doing except me"; arrogance is an expression of "no one
around here cares, works, or tries as much as I do." Neither is
particularly attractive or likely to enhance a professional image.
Likewise, neither are likely to be true.
Build a support
system by identifying one or several members of your staff with whom you
feel capable of developing a close working relationship. Approach people
with a blend of confidence and openness. You may be new and willing to
grow, but you are also a very capable person and you belong there as much
as anyone.
I Want to be
Great!
As a student, or a
student teacher, you received feedback on a fairly consistent basis.
Suddenly as a teacher you are on your own. Now this can be wonderful, but
it can also lead to a loss of perspective. Especially during the first
year or two, you may tend to judge yourself by presumed expectations of
others, by your students' behavior or growth, or even by what other
teachers are doing. You may also find that your expectations for yourself
are higher than any that you've ever encountered previously from external
sources. Watch these tendencies, as the feedback they offer may not only
be inaccurate, but extremely discouraging as well.
For example, new
teachers often feel a tremendous pressure to get everything going at
once! Remember that running all of your different programs, especially if
you're in a self-contained classroom or working with a number of
different preparations, demands familiarity with the content and
management of each program, the development and preparation of materials,
and the establishment of the learning skills necessary to function
successfully in each class.
If you need to take
several weeks to build the independence your students will need to
participate in small groups, hold off starting until your kids are ready.
If you haven't already stockpiled a roomful of dinosaur
"stuff," decide whether you'll feel comfortable starting your
unit with what you have. In the weeks to come, scrounge what you can from
your resource center, flea markets, media center, and other teachers.
Lessons go much better when both the teacher and students are ready.
Most of all, try to
resist the temptation to measure you against other teachers. This desire
often begins with the sinking realization of "Oh no! The other
fourth grade is 15 pages ahead of us in math. What should I do?"
There are a number of reasons this comparison is rarely fair. For one
thing, the other teacher may simply be more familiar with the material
after years of experience with it, and may have devised a more-efficient
set of lessons and activities. Or, perhaps your students needed some
preparation another teacher didn't address, or they had more questions.
You may have decided to explore the topic in greater depth with more
attention to individual needs. You are not in a race with anyone, and the
speed with which you sail through the curriculum is by no means a measure
of your competence or your students' degree of learning.
In striving to become
the best teacher you can be, be careful not to identify too closely with
another teacher. Simply adopting someone else's teaching behaviors can
rob you of the chance to develop your own personal teaching style, a
process that can span your entire teaching career. What works for one
person can become a complete disaster if the behaviors don't match the
intentions, personality, or teaching styles. Try new things that feel
right to you, strategies that allow you to operate within the bounds of
personal comfort and integrity.
Also avoid measuring
your success by your students' successes. When your students have a good
day, it's easy to walk away from work feeling quite the super-teacher.
Yet, when they just can't seem to grasp a concept, are restless beyond
belief, and have clearly communicated that school isn't where they want
to be, does that mean it's time to consider dental school? Hardly.
There will be days
when you come to work prepared to the teeth, organized, dynamic, and in a
wonderful mood, but nevertheless, something still goes wrong. It's never
easy when this happens, but if you can go home feeling that you've done
your best, let that be a comfort to you.
Use these
opportunities to maximize your professional growth. Good day or bad,
start making notes on your lesson plans, unit files, or general
"do" lists. Jot down the little things you can do to make your
lessons-or teaching life in general-go better. Your notes might include
"preview the film," "make flashcards for the new
vocabulary words," "put the chart on darker paper," or
"next time remember to have enough scissors for everybody."
This habit will not only help you develop your powers of planning and
anticipation, it will also help you avoid similar mistakes the next time
you teach that concept or unit.
Try keeping a journal
to monitor your own growth, if only one line a day on a calendar or date
book. At the end of each day, write down at least one thing you felt good
about, some concrete evidence of your growth and development. Here are a
few examples from beginning teachers who recorded short messages about
their growth on a weekly basis: "My self-control seems to be
improving, I kept my cool through a tough situation." "I don't
cry every day." "I'm remembering to get each child's attention
before talking." "I'm smiling more." "I am feeling
comfortable with the faculty at my school. The teachers have become so
supportive, and I am becoming more confident as a teacher."
As the year goes on
you will become more organized, more efficient, better prepared, and more
satisfied. Teaching, like any other set of skills you'll ever tackle, is
a developmental process. You're not supposed to be perfect yet!
Look for small steps
on a daily basis, record your growth, and go back over your notes from
time to time to see how far you've come. Build your support network and
don't be afraid to ask for help. And most important, make sure you take
the time, every day, to pat yourself on the back for the risks you have
dared to take and all the things you are learning to do well. Much
success and happiness to you!
A dynamic and
entertaining speaker, Dr.
Bluestein has worked with thousands of educators, counselors,
administrators, health-care providers, criminal justice personnel and parents.
Her down-to earth speaking style, practicality, sense of humor, and
numerous examples make her ideas clear and accessible to her audiences.
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