Tips for New Teachers

New Teacher? (HNBD)

by Amanda Carlson

Congratulations! After working for months to secure a job, you have finally found that teaching position of which you have always dreamt.

Now, the time has come to dive into the job and get your feet what. What are some tips you should follow before venturing into your first job?

Be Prepared

Sure, you did extremely well during your undergraduate and graduate years, and you never even needed to prepare for a mock lesson.

Well, these lessons are real now, and you don't want to make a glaring error because you didn't prepare. Put together detailed lesson plans, and have your handouts done well in advance. Doing so will help to give you a better sense of control too.

Stay Professional

So everyone at your school dresses in jeans and casual boots on Fridays. You might be tempted to join in right away, but try to remain professional at least in the beginning. Slowly, you could begin to integrate into the dress down Fridays.

However, you do not want to just act as though you have been there for several years. Take cues from other new teachers in the building, and ask teachers with whom you become close what they did during their first weeks at the school.

Be Authoritative

You want your students to respect you, and you need to clearly establish rules on the first few days of school. Once the first few days are over, you will need to follow through with the rules.

Some teachers will be quite strict in the beginning so that students know they have the capability to do so. Of course, you must always treat your students with respect. It's best to have students respect you because you respect them, not because they are afraid of you.

Involving Yourself

Don't be a teacher who runs out of the building the moment the bell rings. Stay after school to offer extra help for students. You can also sign up to chaperone school field trips, to go to the dance during one of the weekend nights and so forth.

Other suggestions include starting up your own club or volunteering to participate in another club. In the morning, don't be racing in to meet the first bell either. You want to be at your desk and prepared to go when the students come into the classroom. A lot of work and effort goes in to obtaining your teaching degree, and it can be just as difficult to find a job, especially in this economy.

However, the work doesn't end when you get a job. You will have to keep pushing to establish yourself in the industry, and, ultimately, you want to work toward obtaining tenure.

Author Bio

Amanda Carlson, a blogger as well as a former newborn care nurse contributed this post. To stay connected to her previous career and share the knowledge she gained, she began writing for www.newborncare.com. You can reach her at amanda.newborncare@gmail.com.