1. You're never fully dressed without a smile.........Unless they are seriously in trouble. If you're always good humored and smiling, then the moment the straight face appears, the fear sets in. Very handy.
2. Don't judge books by covers: Some of your most fantastic textbooks will have gum and poorly rendered drawings of things that the book wasn't originally intended to teach. Some kids present as excellent students, and yet will do no homework, pay very little attention, flunk tests, and put gum in your books. Some students will look like they're in an open-eyed coma, and come out super genius whenever their names get pulled, test scores come back, and homework gets turned in.
3. Never trust the schedule. Never. Not for one minute. Never. Never. Never.
4. No matter how thoroughly you have thought through a plan or system, until you test it on people, you will still never get all the kinks thought out ahead of time.
5. Teaching students sitting in desks is a very different process than teaching students seated at lab tables.
6. It's visibly filthier to have carpet flooring than linoleum.
7. The Promethean board is awesome.
8. Apparently, you can have too many student aides. Never would have dreamed it.
9. 8th graders can break marbles, even at table level. Seriously, it happened.
10. Someone will always attempt to steal the lab equipment. I don't know why, because we only use cheap lab materials. Hopefully, it'll be one of the broken items.
11. When purchasing a skateboard, buy one with metal axles, not plastic. 8th grades can break those, too.
12. 8th graders are capable of more than they let on. They are capable of more than they understand. They are capable of achieving high goals, if they are given the careful framework to get them there, and you refuse to ever doubt your expectations.
13. Whether they have to take the CST or the SBAC- at the end of the year, they still have to know science and how to think. That's a big enough task to worry about.
14. OneDirection is not as cool anymore. This makes using tricks from last year's slides work less. Darn pop culture.
15. Matter of fact works way better than frustration when dealing with discipline moments.
16. Crack down on unwanted behaviors fast.
17. Don't over help. If they need a pencil, remind them that they know where the borrow pencils are. Don't get it for them. Or else they'll just wait for you to do it next time, too.
18. You're part of their transition to adulthood, make sure you're an effective part. Junior high is the beginning of child to adult mutation. They have to learn about appropriate behavior in the work environment. It starts with junior high teachers, if we insist on it.
19. Put a line in the hallway and expect students to be in it before they enter the classroom. Their brains work soooooo much better that way.
20. Require the first five minutes of class to be silent work, and then go to the mat for the silence. It's amazing how much the behavior and focus improves if they have to practice containing themselves for 5 minutes every day (Also, they get their homework copied down much faster).
21. Simple rubrics are the most wonderful things in the world. Make some. Make them broad enough that they apply to multiple assignments, but narrow enough that when someone wants to argue the grade, there is a rule sheet to reference. Teach them how to rubric themselves. Show them to the parents. Quality, performance, attitude and metacognition improve. Arguments, excuses, and grading time decrease.
22. Teaching is more than informational. Teaching requires to see individuals. Teaching requires knowing when to reach out and offer help, and when to allow problems to resolve themselves. Teaching is knowing when to do a student a favor, and when to do them a favor by not doing them a favor. It requires knowing where to draw the lines. Knowing which student needs nothing more than a fist bump and nod in the hallway, and which one needs to hear, "Are you okay?" Teaching is figuring out what each individual defines as respecting them as people. Teaching is hard.
23. The moment you call the tech guy in is the moment the projector will get jostled by a careless kid and magically start working. If you're lucky. Otherwise, the tech guy will actually make there, jostle it himself, and then look at you quizzically, as if you didn't try every useful and useless trick in the book first.
24. Sticky notes are like 20 dollar bills. It's handy to have a stack of them, and they disappear fast.
25. If you like your prep, remember, next year you could easily get moved from 7th period prep to 4th period.
26. Fourth period prep makes for an optimum restroom break.
27. Dang...
28. Love your librarian. You don't realize how valuable she is until she disappears for a few weeks.
29. The food shack across the street sells large fountain drinks with the "good ice" for a dollar. Pepsi products!
30. The second year is leaps and bounds better than the first.
31. BTSA's main reason for existing is to suck the life out of the minimal amount of free time you have.
32. Science fair. It's a love hate relationship. You have to drive the students into their projects by using pitchforks and torches, and then the students chase you down during every single one of your spare moments to talk about the projects non-stop, asking questions you've already given them notes on(and they usually forget to remind you which project they're working on, which can make listening very interesting), but they weren't listening to the directions at that time because they hadn't picked a project yet. But then... they are talking to a teacher about science, during which time they ask questions, and there's a spark in their eyes that says "Sometimes science is really fun!"...and then you think: I love science fair...even though it tries to eat me alive.
33. Don't let that one kid who loves to waste time use the pencil sharpener. Especially if he is also borrowing your pencil. Enough said.
34. The second year can still be really difficult and overwhelming at times.
35. Instruction for English Learners changes severely when their Native language is not Spanish.
36. Sometimes, when school is out, you have to learn to step back and say: No...today I am not a teacher. I am not spending the whole day grading things, or working something out on the computer for Monday. Today I am going for a walk, taking a nap, doing my Bible study, hanging with friends...any thing but teacher stuff.
37. Sometimes you still have to be a teacher, and sometimes you talk above mentioned friends in to grading things with you.
38. When you plan a lab, carefully set it up, plan out all the steps, decide how to divide the students, decide how much of the lab you will guide and how much they will, decide what they will write on their papers, what they will turn in, buy all of the materials necessary, plus extras. That way, on lab day, while you are sitting under a table during a surprise earthquake drill during half a period, you can sit and think about preparation. And you'll wonder why you forget that drills always seem to coincide with lab days...
I enjoyed reading your list! Having been a BTSA mentor, #31 brought on a LOL! Always wished I could rewrite that whole program and actually make it useful. Hang in there. I'm thankful that God is molding and using you right where you are!
ReplyDelete