A reader responds with his ideas about how to succeed in the classroom:
| Tips for a new teacher:Above all else RESPECT your students, if you respect them for who they are they will respect you.
1. Be knowledgeable about your subject matter. If you don’t know something a student asks say “I don’t know, let’s figure it out”. 2. Listen and learn from your students, they are your best teachers. 3. Expect the unexpected. 4. Go with the flow of the moment in the class. 5. Resist administrative mandates that you know will harm your students. 6. Fly under the administrative radar if possible while speaking your mind for what is best for your class and students 6. Engage parents as needed. 7. Jump in with both feet and enjoy what you do in the class. 8. Seek out experienced teachers, listen to them,and ask them about anything, they will gladly help as they were in your shoes before. 9. Do not expect to “like” all your students but treat all equally and fairly. 10. Thank students for pointing out when you make an error/misstatement. |
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I have chapters full of advice…but no publisher….based on 38 years of experience as teacher and of course all my years as a learner.
This is mostly a list of platitudes. I’m curious about your choice to repost this and not the labor lawyer. Those comments were certainly more pertinent to the discussion than “expect the unexpected.”
It’s my blog. I do what I want.
You crack me up. I want to be just like you when I get to my 70’s….if the reformers don’t crucify me first!
That’s the great thing about getting to your 70s. Didn’t Janis Joplin (not my generation!) have a song about “freedom means nothing left to lose”?
OMG! I heart you, Diane Ravitch!,,,,
Diane,
“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
W. Shakespeare
You continue to inspire me with your spirit and energy!
Thank you for that, Karen! And Linda! And Tracey!
This must be what Brooks felt like on the playground.
I think I started having that feeling along about 50, Diane. Isn’t it fun?
This is a list of things that new teachers need to hear. You need to love your job. You need to go with those wonderful unexpected moments that can happen in class. You need to know your subject. And YES!! Sometimes you have to stand up to the boss and say “this is not good for MY kids”! Kudos to Diane and to the reader who posted the list!
Thank you for your kind words!!!
Luke,
I wrote those really quickly yesterday. I was in a hurry as I was getting ready to head down to my neighbor (around here neighbor means about a mile down my gravel road)-Tomato Tom to help pick the ripe ones from around 300 plants and then make a couple of dozen quarts of tomato juice with about a third of what we picked. Had a “red” beer with some freshly made tomato juice, man was that good!
So the list was just some random thoughts that entered my head-by no means meant to be any kind of exhaustive list. Rachel added another good one, “I must add a #11. Know that it’s OK to laugh-at yourself, with (not at) your students.”
And I agree that “expect the unexpected” seems a bit cliche-ish but that’s what popped into my head. I’ve read numerous classroom “management” techniques books over the years but I find that until one gets in front of, or if one prefers in the middle of, the students all the “technique tips” become meaningless. Each teacher has to determine what works for him/herself.
Duane,
P.S. Diane, Thanks for sharing my thoughts.
And here is a response from my own blog:
What you wrote is a good analogy.
11. Have high expectations for your students and they will meet/exceed them.
You want to know which tip is the best, # 6 by far….always fly under the radar….they don’t take well to dissent or questioning. A herd of bobble headed sheep Is easier to control….be a rebel, but be careful.
And this is why I blog anonymously. Someone has to point out the truth. But someone has bills to pay!
I understand why you blog anonymously. I protect my readers’ identities unless they choose to be identified.
I decided to use my real name as at 57 I really don’t care that much if people don’t like to hear what I have to say-I’ll say it anyway. As a certified Mr. Teachbad “difficult teacher” #6 was written from my personal experiences of “being on the radar”. It’s not pleasant.
These are also good tips for “old” teachers.
Ultimately —
You come up with your own set of guidelines. New teachers are often bombarded with advice, but what works best is idiosyncratic. Teaching is personal, and we develop our own styles.
Although nobody can challenge that you must continue to master your subject — a never-ending quest.
Recently, a math teacher, Bowman Dickson, sent out a request via twitter for teachers to write letters to first year teachers with advice. It turned out to be an excellent collection of advice that I would recommend to any new teacher.
Very few things in a roomful of teenagers go as planned….that was my favorite and so true!
Dear All,
Of course there are more than 10 points. But let’s not quibble. Here are a couple of others I try to teach to my trainees.
Teaching is about the art of relationship building.
Knowing content is important but learning the variety of ways to teach it is more vital.
Be creative.
Combining the art of relationship building with that variety of methods, creativity, a sense of humor, and ones personality creates Master teachers.
Here are two more that I can think of right now.
12. Treat all students as people.
13. Leave your ego at the door. Don’t take it personaly. students are always leaning to interact with adults.
Bill, I like #13. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that every interaction– at every moment– is a learning experience for the student, on every level. I’m usually pretty OK at keeping that mindset, but I like the way you have phrased it.
Best advice I ever got was to “earn deviance credits” (do lots of good that proves your character and worth and earns you respect) before becoming deviant. If you do that, your “deviance” will be given more credence.
JSedd,
Is there anyway you could send me some of those credits? I’m always in need of extras.
Very good additions!!
I am sorry. I don’t mean to offend. But my tip to new teachers is, get out. If you have an education degree, I am sorry. Go back and do something else.
If you want to stay, come in and tell people how its going to be – dictate the terms, you have nothing to lose (because you are young). Care about your kids while being professional – teach for fun, not to the test. If your students happen to score low, tell the administrators to kiss it.
And above all, since you have nothing to lose (because your young), if you have a corporate elite trying to pull the shots at your school, tell him or her to screw off.
If your a teacher, you definitely are a good candidate for being a certified Mr. Teachbad “difficult teacher”. Good on ya!
I always used the “round file” concept when I taught, from the first day to the last. I did my own lessons, and sometimes they were not up to par, so I told my students to tell me and I would “round file it “. I did, and they did! The waste paper basket was always in front and I sometimes used it if I thought a lesson was not going well, and one time a student raised her hand and said, “round file it”, so I did. Always respect student’s opinion, their individualism and know your subject to the best of your ability. But, above all treat all students exactly the way you would wish to be treated as a student. I think teaching is an art that can not be defined, but can be recognized by all students regardless of the circumstances. I just always loved my students whether low achievers or gifted that I was blessed to teach. I think they felt this human element, and I never had a problem with discipline. I don’t think this is something that can be taught in a college of education, but I’m grateful for my outstanding professors and advisors at Arizona State University who hepled me along the way. I think teaching is something, like art, that can not be defined.
“I think they felt this human element, and I never had a problem with discipline”. How true!!
How lucky for you to have gone to ASU which has a great archive of education policy writings-Education Policy Analysis Archives.
Ann Herzer,
I love your last sentence! It certainly feels a lot like an “eye of the beholder” thing sometimes. I will have to remember that when one parent thanks me and another one wants me fired and their kids are in the same class! 🙂
Dr. Ravitch, you recently wrote that you don’t know much about classroom technique. It’s obvious, however, by your choice of these tips, that you know good technique when you see it.
By the way, great quote from Janis Joplin, even though she didn’t make it anywhere close to age 70!
I would suggest, to magnify #9, that you find something to like about each student. Always. Every student. And, BTW, you rock, Diane.
I agree and that is what I try to do. But I’m not an angel/saint, far from it, so I think it is important to recognize and control those emotions/feelings.
There are many great points here but one “Fly under the administrative radar if possible while speaking your mind for what is best for your class and students” really concerns me. Why should the teacher not be allowed to openly share her/his thoughts? I am not naive, but I find this sad because this is the person who probably is the best one to shed light on what is working and what is not. The fact that teachers are considered the main cause for children not learning instead of part of the solution is absurd. We will never be able to reform education if we do not respect teachers and bring them into the discussion of how we can improve our educational system. The business models that are being implemented in our schools do not take this into account and until they do, we will not be able to move forward.
“Why should the teacher not be allowed to openly share her/his thoughts?”
Oh, we’re allowed to “share our thoughts” but if they don’t concur with the administration’s views then bad stuff can happen. I know, I’ve had it happen to me more than once. I’ve thought about going into faculty meetings with my mouth duct taped-you know a rheeinovation-so I wouldn’t stick my foot in it. But then I realized that if I did that the administration would take it as a sign against them. I’ve been written up for sending articles about public education to the other teachers-supposedly I’m wasting their time. But others can send out all kinds of non-education stuff and it’s okay. I could go on and on about what speaking one’s mind can get you, mainly a lot of headaches and letters in one’s file.