Haley Ballentine

Tips for Your First Year of Teaching

      This was my favorite presentation because it was the most beneficial to me. It was on tips for the first year of teaching. One tip that I love that they gave was that in the first year of teaching you should take advice from teachers who have been there for a while. That is where most of your help can come from as a new teacher. I know I do this right now as an intern and it really does help. As a new teacher, classroom management and good rapport with the other teachers is key. Classroom management is something you need to establish as your foundation in your classroom from the very beginning. If you do not have a good foundation from the very beginning, you cannot build your classroom. When you are starting your new job as a teacher, set clear expectations as for what you want to accomplish in this school year. In the first year of being an educator, use as many resources as you can. Collaborate with your fellow colleagues, and use online resources such as Teachers Pay Teachers. I love this resource. There are many tools that you can use in your classroom such as Class Dojo, Remind 101, Quizlet, Kahoot, and Google Classroom. All of these tools will help with classroom management, keeping parents informed, and keeping your students engaged. I loved that in the presentation that it mentioned to be a bucket filling classroom. The classroom needs to be a very positive environment and a safe place for your students. Lesson planning is an important part of your first year of teaching. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Even though lesson planning is important, you do not need to memorize it. You need to be passionate about what you are teaching and don’t just teach from the book.  In the presentation, it mentioned that in your first year of teaching that you will fail, make mistakes, embarrass yourself, and not know some of the answers. That is okay. Ask for help, use your resources, and learn from your mistakes to better yourself as an educator. All of these tips that were given in this presentation will definitely help me in my first year of teaching.