Jennifer at Rowdy in First Grade is hosting a linky party! I thought I'd join in the fun :)
I loved reading what everyone has learned from being a teacher. Since this is my 10th year (yes - 10th!!) teaching first grade, I feel like I have learned a lot...
1. Organization is key. I try to always know where everything is, and have a plan at all times. You can never be too prepared!
2. If you want your students to listen, speak quietly. I VERY rarely raise my voice, and my students truly tend to be good listeners.
3. You can never have too many books! My library is giant and ever-growing.
4. Diet Coke is a perfect pick-me-up treat for any time of day!
5. A teacher's work will never be done - you will always have another unit to plan, papers to grade, cupboards to straighten, etc. Don't let it overwhelm you, and don't take work home every night.
6. You can't please every parent, no matter how hard you try. Appreciate and treasure the parents who value your hard work, and try to let the negative parents' comments go (harder than it sounds!).
7. Teaching lower elementary students is the best - you get to enjoy snack time, story time, and make fun projects!
8. Any worksheet, paper, or assignment can become "big fun" if you let the students use markers.
9. It is always on the day that I wake up late and come in with a wet pony tail that one of my students tells me I look beautiful (never mind all of the other days when I put effort into my appearance!).
10. Although I will never make tons of money, there is no more rewarding job than being a teacher!
Loving #8- I rarely let my kids use markers, so when I do it's like WOW this must be REALLY important. Glad you joined the party!
ReplyDeletehttp://rowdyinfirstgrade.blogspot.com/
I love your blog. I love your ten things you have learned from being a teacher. They are absolutely so true. I agree that you always need to have a plan and you can't overplan. I am a secondary teacher of Spanish and English. When I first went back to work after having my kids, I worked as an aide in elementary school. I learned so much about organization from the those teachers. Elementary teachers are the most organized teachers in the world. I also think you have the toughest job in the world. My students are older and move much more slowly. Unfortunately, they lose a lot of their creativity by the time I see them. So, I try to use the tricks I learned from my colleagues in elementary. I plan the days and weeks with many interesting activities. I try to do art projects at least once or twice a week. Sometimes I let my students do their work in marker, too. I even learned how to adapt stations/centers to my teaching for my students. They really enjoy that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for such neat ideas.