well that would have made it SO much easier?

Question

Hi,

I'm a college student and I'm getting ready to go out on my first field observation for my secondary education certification. Thinking about all the things that I'm going to learn, I wanted to pose a question to all of the teachers out there. Is there something that you know now that if you had been told or discovered earlier, that would have made the transition from student to teacher easier? Basically I'm looking for tips and advice from teachers.

Answer 1

Oh, boy. Here's a true story for you.

A teacher of my acquaintance was once insulted in class by a young lad who had recently learned how to give the finger.

The teacher was shocked, of course, but struggled to ignore the boy.

Well, the boy kept it up, and the teacher sensed he was starting to lose control of the class (NEVER lose control of the class, as you know!).

He casually walked to the boy, keeping his eyes on the class, continuing his lecture. He seized the boy's upraised finger, and held on.

The harder the boy struggled to free himself, the firmer the teacher held it. After a good five minutes, the teacher let go, not once having indicated that he was paying attention to anything but the lecture.

The moral of the story: don't let them get your goat!

Answer 2

Wow. There are a lot of possible answers. I guess for me the top one would be "Be very organized". The administration will get on you about lesson plans, and some teachers consider them a waste of time, but trust me: they aren't. You need them especially if you're teaching several sections of the same class. There's really no other way to keep track of what you have already taught and what you plan on teaching. You're also likely to have LOTS of students. The better you organize your grades, the easier your life will be when it comes time to make out report cards.

If you end up being what I call an itinerant teacher - i.e. you don't have a single classroom of your own - then invest in a cart you can put your stuff on and roll from one class to the other. It took me about two weeks to figure that out, and it made life SO much simpler.

Answer 3

Hi!

I'm not a teacher, but I am a pretty recent college grad who took Psychology of Childhood Development (with field observations) for a general distribution requirement and have been moonlighting off and on as a tutor over the years.

One important thing to remember is that students dissect and learn information differently.

Some are visual learners (who typically have a great photogenic memory) and can absorb vast amounts of information simply through visualization. Others are auditory learners, who excel in grasping and retaining information that is spoken out loud. Others are haptic learners, who excel at retaining information if it is taught from a hands-on approach. Case in point: Students who fail the written examination in Driver's Ed, but ace the traffic examination. As a teacher, you must always continue to refine your teaching style so that it does not rely too heavily on one mode of learning.

You are getting your secondary education certification? Let me just interject a God Bless You!! From my experience as a student and a tutor, adolescence is the most rigorous stage of development; just brace yourself. Appreciate the fragility of self-esteem and how one can nuture and condition it in both a positive and negative manner. Teenagers (sigh) are so self-conscious and exhibit this subtle anxiety in so many ways. At this stage, the force that is greater than gravity is peer pressure. Do not be shocked to see potentially bright students dumb themselves down in order to be accepted by their peers. Do not be surprised to find bullying from extremely insecure students. And try to temper your frustration when you receive the universal response to every question you ask..."I don't know". You must command respect, which I admit, I struggle with because I am young and frankly the teenagers know this. Try to be creative in your discipline and with time, you will garner more and more respect.

There are so many other points to make, but I won't expound on them. Just remember that you will make mistakes in the beginning, but do not let them hinder you from being the best teacher you can be. And also act professionally at all times and establish a formal relationship with the parents of the students so you can gauge the environments that they encounter. Good Luck!!

Answer 4

Dee - I am not a teacher, but my boyfriend is and is an outstanding one. He has many "tricks" up his sleeve that he uses. One is now that most schools do block scheduling, that first morning class can seem to last forever. So half way through the class he tells them to stand up and stretch, then he picks a student and tells them to start laughing. Sometimes its hard to get them started but once someone starts everyone else begins to laugh and they laugh and laugh. When they are ready to sit down and get back to work they are sharp and awake again.

He also has some special questions. One I like and I use a LOT in things I do is an exercise in 3 dimension. Most of us THINK in 2 dimension and its hard to break away from that. He begins with....what is a 6 sideded 3D object...a cube...and he takes them clear down to a one sided 3D object (a cone). This little exercise gets your mind outside the box (no pun intended) and helps you think in new ways. It opens the mind to learn.

Answer 5

The classes that you take don't teach you how to be a teacher. All the psychology (Erikson, Piaget) doesn't make a bit of difference. You have to start being yourself, and treating your students like they matter.

My first day of teaching I went over the rules and my expectations of them. I modeled a typical day for them and we discussed homework policy, testing, etc. Then I asked them what they expected of me, and if they wanted to add anything to the rules. I gave them partial ownership in the room. It wasn't just "my room", but I told them it was their classroom, and they determined what type of day they would have in there everyday. Make them accountable from day one.

Allow your students to see you as a human being, not a disconnected, untouchable person. College does not prepare you for the child who is on drugs, the one who just broke up with her first love, the one whose parents are going through a divorce, nor the one whose mother stays out all night while they are at home trying to feed their younger siblings. They are out there, and they will want to talk to you from time to time. Don't ignore them.

Above all, HAVE FUN! Make assignments fun and interesting. I remember telling my class, "I don't like being bored, and I know you don't either, so you're going to be my entertainment, and I'll be yours." Because of that, and a few other challenges, my students were going to other classes speaking Spanish, I received the best projects in the school, and even though I've been away from that school for almost three years (my babies are Juniors and Seniors now), I still keep in contact with them.

You are going to be spending more time with them than their parents do. They will have the opportunity to interact with you more than their family Make those moments count. You're teaching our bankers, doctors, nurses, paramedics, senators, etc. Give them all you've got!

I wish you the best of luck! Enjoy!