Teacher Talk Tuesday

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' today for Teacher Talk Tuesday. Btw, I did participate in Meet the Teacher Monday by creating my About Me section. Go check it out! I didn't want two posts on my blog in the same day, and it was a weekly update, so I decided to put it there. I also made my 30 before 30 list, so more for you people to look at!

Anyway, today I'm supposed to give advice for new teachers. I've got 5 years under my belt now, so I'm going to try and give 5 pieces of advice.

1. Keep it simple! It applies everywhere, but I mean it. If you have too much stuff in your room and try to keep everything that may be passed down to you, you will be overwhelmed. Come up with a simple format for how to organize your day and stick to it as much as you can. It helps you, and your students will know what to expect as well. You can add on more when you feel comfortable.
2. Ask for forgiveness, not permission. I don't mean do things that will really get you in trouble, but just try things out before running everything by your boss. Trust your instincts, and they will usually lead you in the right direction.
3. Remember that you're not perfect, and remind your students of this. You WILL make mistakes. Here's my most embarrassing: My first year teaching VA studies (I'd only lived here 2 years), we were doing test-taking skills and got to a question I hadn't taught. So we used the "Slash the Trash" method and went through it. The question was "Who was the first African American governer of Virginia?" We knew that Nat Turner had led a slave rebellion during the Civil War (slash), and that Arthur Ashe was a professional tennis player (slash). That left Harry F. Byrd and Douglass Wilder. I had no idea who Byrd was, but I knew that Douglass Wilder was at the time the current mayor of Richmond. It didn't make sense to me that he went from governer to mayor, so we chose Byrd. Come to find out, Byrd was VERY anti-segregation and definitely a white man. OOPS!! I had to suck up my pride and correct my mistake the next day.
4. Don't bring work home if you can help it. This I learned from my cooperating teacher while student teaching, and I've tried my best to make it work for me. You need a seperate life from work and school, especially if you have a family. Use your time wisely at school and try to get everything done there. It will ease a lot of headaches!
5. Come in to every year with an open mind for all students. Who knows? You might be the teacher that actually reaches said evil child. I've had children who were perfect angels before and became snotty little liars in my class, and I've had students who I was told would be horrible that became some of my favorites. Give every student a chance, and start every year giving them the benefit of a doubt.

Alright, I'm off to school to start setting up my classroom! Teacher work week starts Monday, and we never have enough time to get everything ready then. I'll try to get pictures before and after, and let's hope they didn't move my furniture because I surely can't this year.

Go here for more teacher tips!