5 Tips to Survive Your First 3 Years Teaching

Dude. Being a teacher is some hard stuff. I won't lie to you, my beloved blog readers, when I first started teaching, I imagined this magical life where we all sat down together, read novels, discussed our findings within them and there was 90% participation from students (come on, I'm a realist! I know it can't be 100%). Any troubled students I faced would be easily redirected with a discovery of the right book for them.

It all seemed so right.

Wrong-o.

Now, I'm certainly not saying we don't do those things. We definitely do. But there are some realities that didn't hit me until the end of this "Probationary" period of teaching. 

Here's some of the things I tell incoming teachers now:

1. Get really good at emailing. It may seem weird that this is first, but seriously, it will save you so much time. Learning to send meaningful, concise, friendly, and professional emails right out of the gate is key. As a young or new teacher you have to make sure that all of your interactions are professional. So, brush up on your use of commas. Think about how you dealt with angry customers at your college retail job and apply that to every interaction. This will make parents and other teachers connect with you more. Don't be afraid of a smiley face, and invent a professional looking signature.
2. Find an ally in the building. You are going to face conflict, and that shit is going to suck. Just being for real. You will conflict with an experienced teacher who is thrown off by your enthusiasm and naivete, or another new teacher who doesn't agree with you, or a principal who wants to redirect you. That does NOT mean you are a bad teacher or are going to be a bad teacher, it means you and that person are different. Find someone in the building you feel comfortable with that will help talk you through that conflict. Probs not someone that will spread any drama further but that can gently redirect you when you need it or motivate you to keep going. Conflict is healthy, learning to manage it will save you a lot of stress. 
3. Get plugged in to some kind of program. I know a lot of teachers that dislike working after school hours. We work a lot, we work really hard, we don't get enough wine or naps. This is true. Don't feel like you have to take on a club or program, but if you love basketball, go to a basketball game once in awhile. I love volleyball but coach a different sport, so on the evenings I can I help to run the line judging so I can stay involved. The community sees me in that role and it helps! Plus seeing the kids is great.
4. Let your weird flag fly. I jump on the desk when I teach the Gettysburg Address or act out my funny stories about my dogs hiding in the bathtub. Kids love it. If you are a nerd about a mascot or a cartoon character, let your kids know. I love the Little Mermaid. I have 6 mermaid related coffee cups and an entire upper cabinet filled with memorabilia that is of the nautical sort. Whether it is your love for fish, favorite song, sports team, or movie, let kids see you as a real person. 
5. Give yourself some grace. If you don't want to stay home and grade papers on a Friday night, don't do it. If you don't want to grade outside of school, don't assign work that needs extensive grading. I pre-plan my courses before school even starts at the beginning of each semester so I know when is the most packed. I plan on one assignment a semester I'll bring home. Since I travel a lot for my coaching roles, its made a big difference. Also, Teachers Pay Teachers  is a life saver and filled with great stuff. You don't have to invent a bunch of worksheets. Someone probably already has. 

Have other advice for new teachers or want more tips and tricks? Comment below or post it on Facebook! 

Back to School Time

Well it is that time of year again for us here in Colorado! Back to school! This is my first week back, I get to meet all my great students next Monday for the start of the 2014-2015 school year. I anticipate it being a lot of fun, even with all the testing changes (cough: PARCC).

When I was teaching summer school I decided it was a great time to update my classroom and make it reflect more of my personality, remember when I first showed it to you in February?  Well it is still similar but I've added some awesome stripes!

Here's the tour this year:

The view from the front of my classroom:

Teacher corner (I still love my FREE desks):

My huge book collection and DIY magazine holders:

Painting the new stripes only took a couple of days after my summer school class was out. Which was awesome, I feel like they add some subtle character and my students will love them! I still want to find a slip cover for the couch that is functional but it is a work in progress!

When do you go back to school? I feel like we are just uncommonly early, but maybe not.

My Classroom: Set-Up & Organization

As many of you know I started my first "official" year of teaching this year, and I'm super excited about it. So I thought I'd share pictures of my classroom. Obviously it is a work in progress but it's at least a start. I teach high school English. 

Here's my desk arrangement, I don't like rows but this room doesn't allow for groupings, this allows for easy movement into groups and accessibility to students. Which is great, plus it is not traditional which works really well for me. 

Another teacher in the building gave me this beautiful couch for the room, I'm hoping to find a slip cover on sale somewhere for it, the kids love it though.  I of course have a gigantic Little Mermaid poster, she's my fav. I also got these two fancy desks for free from another teacher who switched schools and didn't want to take them. They are really nice!

Our school is really far out from any food places so I have mini-kitchen in my classroom, the students call it my "mini-bar." I love coffee! Plus I use the cabinets to store all my food, mostly soup and oatmeal. haha.

My Mom and I have been collecting books for as long as I can remember, roughly 5 years. So far there is about 400 books on this wall, I let students check them out and so far I have only lost one. They usually bring them back when I explain that my Mom and I used our money to buy them and not the school. They all have my name on them too. It's a lot of books:

For their projects they can choose to paint ceiling tiles, a box of them is $30.00 at Lowe's so I just buy a box and will switch em around at the end of the year and keep the really cool ones up.

I spray painted some random scrap 2"x4"s that were in my shed with gold and chalkboard paint so I could make some labels for my room. I try to be crafty, I have a big chalkboard "M" also. 

Teacher corner!

I'm starting a gallery wall. Theme: Little Mermaid and Colorado paintings. hehehehe.

Here's my angle from the teacher desk!

I have plans to use the school color (maroon, grey, white) grey to paint stripes around the room like those in my office. I think it will look cool and there's enough cabinets that it wouldn't take that much time. Plus it's different and quirky, like me! I tell my students that the reason I teach is because I LOVE it and because I'm too weird for any other job.