by teachercrispy

Short answer – NO.

Longer Answer – Last year, I moved 2000 miles across country, from a conservative area to a liberal area, and since I am a social studies teacher, I was plagued constantly by the inevitable “and what do you coach” question. Since I am as far from athletic as you can possibly get short of paraplegia, my answer to that question seemed to consistently and repeatedly doom me to the “we like you, but” response to an interview. But I did get a job, although it wasn’t as soon as I would have liked, and I got the perfect job….eventually.

Don’t despair if you don’t yet have a job and you are beginning to panic. Several of my close teacher friends weren’t hired until after school had already started. Is it ideal? No, but many districts and schools, for whatever reason, end up having to hire teachers after school starts. Most of the time it is a budget issue that gets worked out at the last minute, clearing the way for them to hire you.

So what can you do to expedite the situation?

1. Keep checking the online job postings. By this time, you probably have an idea of the district (or two or three) that appeal to you the most.

2. Be open to applying for a job that wouldn’t necessarily be your first choice. For example, teaching junior high instead of high school or part time instead of a full time position. Getting your foot in the door will make a difference down the road. One of my friends accepted a position as a junior high math teacher, and then the next year when a high school teacher retired, was moved up into the high school into the position that he had originally wanted.

3. Seriously consider substitute teaching. Many teachers have gotten positions because they got to know the administration, faculty, and students in a particular school or district by subbing – giving them a leg-up in the interview process. In some cases, subbing can be ideal for a first year teacher. There is generally no grading to do and little to no planning. You can work as much or as little as you want, and a good sub will most likely be employed every single school day. Believe me, teachers long for good subs they can trust.

Finally, and above all, do not get discouraged. Not getting a job doesn’t mean you aren’t a good teacher – you just haven’t found quite the right school yet. Good luck!

As a teacher, I have done many different things during the summer months, some great and some not so much. Here is a list of things you might consider doing this summer….

• look for free or inexpensive classes in your area – some classes are free to teachers even if they cost money for others. Try looking through the local colleges and universities for seminars.
• take a class that is geared towards a hobby, not your area of teaching. Look for cooking or sewing classes, kite-making classes, or anything you like! Check out The School of Everything.
• if you live in a largish city, chances are that the art museum has free days - days when the public can get in for no charge. Take the bus for a really cheap day.
• find a park or local attraction that you haven’t had a chance to visit yet and go there for the day. Take a book or your bike and take the opportunity to refresh your brain. Don’t forget your sunscreen!
• take a day trip – find a place to go that’s a little farther away and take a drive.
• watch a movie you didn’t get to see during the school year. It’s probably out on DVD now…so you can watch it in your bunny slippers
• take a nap. Take lots of naps. Your brain is like a sleep bank, and trust me, you’ve probably been low for a while.
• if you must work on lesson plans, set aside one or two days a week, or one or two hours a day. I go to school on Mondays and work most of the day, but the rest of the week I try not to even think about school.

Above all, allow yourself to relax. It is important for both you and your future students!

Your first year of teaching is exhausting. Don’t feel frustrated at yourself when everything doesn’t go the way you would like it to go. Your first year of teaching is the time when you are working on putting all those classes you took in college into real-life practice and it can be a shock. My first year of teaching (and then again when I became a mentor) I received a copy of this graph which I think is an excellent device for checking out how you’re doing. I can say that being in my 7th year of teaching, I go through some version of this every year, although it is less dramatic of a shift as time goes on. So don’t lose hope, things DO get better.

Thanks to inspiringteachers.com for the image.

This year has been a little rough. I have quite a few kids that are more than usually immature and have been giving me a rough time and I have had to contact a few parents several times. But recently one of those kids had a pretty good day, and before emailing the other nine parents I had bad news for, I dropped an email to this student’s mom just to tell her that things went well. It was a two line email, nothing special, but two minutes later my phone rang. That mom was almost in tears as she told me that no one ever had good things to say about her son and she was making him a special dinner that night to celebrate. She emailed the next day to say that when she showed him that email, his face lit up and he couldn’t stop smiling. Things have improved since that day, and while that student has bad days from time to time, they have become farther and farther apart and he has started making wiser decisions about his education on his own.

It is easy to get upset and email the bad stuff, but sometimes the biggest difference can come from a compliment. It’s not magic and it’s not going to fix all your discipline issues, but sometimes positive parent contact can make a major impact in your classroom. In addition, getting the parents “on your side” can have tremendous impact down the road when you truly need them. When they know that you will go out of your way to tell them the positive, they will be more likely to back you up on the negative.

And sometimes, giving a compliment makes you feel better too.

Do you want a little more clarity regarding Cornell Notes, or want to know how to teach the process to your students? Go here for some GREAT information!

No matter what level you teach, your students are going to infect you with some kind of disease, from the common cold to strep throat or even worse. Your first year of teaching, or your time as a student teacher, is usually the worst it will ever be in your career as an educator. The best way to protect yourself from this is mostly common sense – wash your hands -  but there are some more things you can do to stave off infections.

1. Clean the desk tops. This seems simple, but the janitorial staff does not necessarily do this. I try and clean off the desks at least once a week, using a kitchen or bathroom-grade disinfectant that I keep in my classroom.

2. Clean areas that are commonly touched, like doorhandles, phone receivers, and keyboards. I keep disinfecting wipes in my classroom for this and try to clean these off at least once a week.

3. Keep tissues in your classroom. This has a dual purpose: it keeps the students from leaving your classroom to go to the bathroom for tissue, and it cuts down on the likelihood that they use their hands to wipe their nose and then open the door.

4. If a student is sick, send them to the nurse…even if they don’t ask to go. I am not a parent, but I have learned over the years to recognize symptoms and send them to the nurse to prevent everyone else from catching whatever they have.

5. make sure you get enough sleep, eat right, and exercise. This is obvious, but keeping your body healthy will keep you from getting every little thing that comes along.

6. Be prepared. Have a lesson plan ready for a sub and if your district has a sub system, make sure you are registered now. Trust me, you aren’t going to want to do this the morning that you feel like death would be a step up.

I strongly reiterate what the greekness posted, and I have a few more suggestions to make:

1. You must decide how much time you will spend at school after school. New teachers often fall into the trap of living at school until late in the evening, every evening. You have to leave. Set a time that you will leave every night, and stick to it. For a new teacher, 2 hours after school lets out is both realistic and the maximum amount of time you should be spending after school every day. After that point, it is important that you go home and do something besides school work. Even just taking a break for an hour or two to work out (or have a drink) is crucial to both your mental and physical health. This is probably the most common mistake I see new teachers making and the one that will lead to burnout the fastest.

2. You have to understand that it may take you a while to get things graded, and that’s ok. Unless your district has a hard and fast policy on this, DO NOT stress out about it. Your students may bother you about it, but again, you have to draw the line. It took me about 6 years to work out a system that worked for me, and I wish I had worked it out much sooner. Some things that have worked for me and for others: set aside half an hour or 45 minutes after school to work on grading, or maybe grade only one class period’s work, or even just grade 10 papers during your prep period. Make it a habit, and you will be done before you know it. Do not take work home unless you absolutely cannot avoid it – it can potentially get lost and you will work on that instead of relaxing like you should.

3. Find a hobby. I like to sew, some people volunteer, others work out, cook, go out with friends, watch movies, or play games. Whatever you like, make time for it at least three times a week to avoid burnout. Ideally, do something that uses a different part of your brain than you use while you teach. All teachers can identify with needing time to themselves after school. You are in a profession which requires you to be in constant communication with needy and demanding people who need you all the time. You have to make time to decompress.