Otis Kriegel - Everything a New Elementary School Teacher REALLY Needs to Know: (But Didnt Learn in College)

This book is a treasure trove of for real tasty tidbits of advice. Kriegel writes well enough to read it through like a novel, but there is so much useful information I have placed it in a handy location, so when a question comes up or a school routine looms ominously in the near future, I can go to the table of contents and use the book like a good old-fashioned Farmers Almanac.
Jon Snyder, Dean of the Bank Street College of Education

When I first started teaching, I didnt even know what I didnt know. I couldnt figure out why it felt like my students were running the class. How I wish Id had Otis Kriegels book back then! This is an indispensable guide for any teacher, whether theyre just starting out or looking for straight-up, sensible advice on how to improve their classroom and their practice.
Dan Moulthrop, coauthor, with Dave Eggers and Ninive Calegari, of Teachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of Americas Teachers

A terrific guide filled with excellent tips and suggestions for new teachers.
Steve Reifman, National Board Certified Teacher and author of Eight Essentials for Empowered Teaching and Learning, K8

Drawing upon his own years of teaching and reflections on what it means to teach well, Kriegel offers readers a practical, personable road map for how they can become better teachers.
Brad Olsen, associate professor of education, University of California, Santa Cruz, and author of Teaching What They Learn, Learning What They Live: How Teachers Personal Histories Shape Their Professional Development

Finally, a practical survival guide for first-year teachers that provides the blueprint for what you need to doand howto be an effective teacher. Every teacher beginning their career should have this book.
Andrea Franks, veteran 4th- and 5th-grade teacher, New York City

Otis Kriegel is the hurricane of fresh air that elementary teacher education needs today.
Joseph Patrick Rafter, Ph.D, clinical assistant professor, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University

Challenging many of the night frights that haunt newcomers to the teaching profession, Everything a New Elementary School Teacher REALLY Needs to Know offers sweeping and practical guidance to the novice teacher. Through engaging anecdote and lucid reflection, Kriegel draws on his own professional journey in making a vital contribution to the field of teacher education.
Michael Grady, Ed.D., deputy director and clinical assistant professor, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University

A delightful book, chock-full of practical advice for new teachers. Where else will you learn to keep a change of clothes handy (in case a child pees on you) or to tell a parent volunteer that the snacks are for the CHILDREN (and that she shouldnt eat them all herself)?
Clara Hemphill, founding editor of InsideSchools.org and author of New York Citys Best Public Elementary Schools

In these pages teachers will find ways to mend the disconnect they commonly feel between their reasons for choosing teaching and the fears about struggles in the early part of their careers. Covering crucial territory that is often overlooked in certification programs, without ever being rigidly prescriptive, Kriegel guides the reader with humor, care, and incisive intelligence. Its a book to devour from cover to cover, and to return to often.
Andra Miletta, assistant professor, Mercy College

Otis Kriegel has provided sound, pragmatic advice on the multitude of topics and issues that brand-new teachers brave in their first year. School administrators should enclose a copy of this book with every signed contract. Many teachers leave the profession within the first five years of teaching because they are overwhelmed by the vast responsibilities of the job. We administrators are challenged to find genuine, meaningful ways to support them. Kriegel taps into his substantial teaching experience to weave together a comprehensive roadmap to student success and support, coupled with increased teacher satisfaction and competence.
Lois Kortum, 40-year veteran independent school administrator

Text copyright 2013 by Otis Kriegel

Illustrations copyright 2013 by Free Spirit Publishing Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kriegel, Otis.

Everything a new elementary school teacher really needs to know : (but didnt learn in college) / Otis Kriegel, M.S.Ed.

1 online resource.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN 978-1-57542-643-3 ISBN 978-1-57542-428-6 1. Elementary school teachingUnited States. 2. First year teachersUnited States. 3.

Classroom managementUnited States. I. Title.

LB1555

371.1440973dc23

2013000647

eBook ISBN: 978-1-57542-643-3

Free Spirit Publishing does not have control over or assume responsibility for author or third-party websites and their content. At the time of this books publication, all facts and figures cited within are the most current available. All telephone numbers, addresses, and website URLs are accurate and active; all publications, organizations, websites, and other resources exist as described in this book; and all have been verified as of February 2013. If you find an error or believe that a resource listed here is not as described, please contact Free Spirit Publishing. Parents, teachers, and other adults: We strongly urge you to monitor childrens use of the Internet.

Edited by Eric Braun

Cover and interior design by Tasha Kenyon

Illustrations by Rosie Scott

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At the beginning of my sixth year of teaching, I was speaking to a fellow teacher and education professor who was about to send her own child off to school. She was upset because her daughter was assigned to a first-year teacher.

Itll be a wasted year, she lamented. Im going to have her moved.

Wasted? Come on! I wanted to believe she was exaggerating.