Tips for {New} Educators

Growing up, "summer" meant 3 glorious months out of a classroom and playing outside!  My mom would pick us up on that last day of school with a huge smile on her face!  Then, we would head to our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant and giggle in anticipation of the coming seemingly-endless weeks of fun waiting to be had.  By the time August rolled around, we started to dread going back to school, and it took until I became a teacher to realize that the students weren't the only ones reveling in work-free bliss!

With utmost confidence, I will say that teachers dread the start of the school year far more than any adolescent.  I won't even chalk it all up to a desire to avoid work- rather, I believe that too many teachers aren't prepared for the new school year and thus live a self-fulfilling prophecy: this year is going to be hard...stressful...long...etc.

Rather than admit defeat before the year has even begun, why not plan a little ahead and set yourself up for success?

• The goal is to find the right pacing for you and for your class.
• If you over-plan, you'll get too rigid and have trouble flexing for reteaching.
• On the flip side, if you go day-by-day, it's possible to run out of activities or lessons and find yourself twiddling your thumbs in front of 20 or 30 pairs of eyes.
• After a few weeks, you will feel more confident about your pacing and how to respond to your class's needs.

• Position your desk in a way that you can sit at it and still see what's going on, whether they're testing or working on their own.
• Position the students.  Remember that kids are kids- be intentional in how you arrange their desks/chairs.  Whether you opt for rows, groupings, or even 2 sides facing each other, think through how much lecturing you will be doing.  If a lot, it may be wise to place them in rows, facing the front.  If there will be guided discussion or student debates, etc., it may be smarter to have them angled off the front where they can each other, but aren't too distracted.
• Have a table easily accessible at the front where you can keep copies and anything you need during the day.  (Make sure not to leave quiz and/or test papers out as a free-for-all, though!)
• Position yourself.  Again you'll need to think through how you'll be teaching, but most effective teachers command the classroom by presenting well-prepared information and an interesting format.  One way to manage good instruction and your class at the same time is to try a mobile stand, or some sort of desktop that allows you to teach from any place in the classroom.  Presentation keyboards allow you to present lessons from any point in the classroom- even next to the 2 talkers who won't be quiet unless you're right next to them!

• Clear the clutter for 2 reasons: 1) You lose credibility when you look disorganized and can't find something.  2) The less junk you have cluttering your desk, the less distracted, and conversely, the more focused on your students you'll be.
• Practice good ergonomics.  Keep your keyboard and mouse on the same surface and next to each other.  A keyboard tray is ideal for freeing up desk space and also maintaining a good neutral posture.  An ergonomic keyboard and/or mouse also make for more efficient and more comfortable typing.
• If you type from notes frequently, consider a document holder to keep them at eye level, thus reducing eye strain.