Melissa Kelly - The Everything New Teacher Book: A Survival Guide for the First Year and Beyond

THE
EVERYTHING
NEW TEACHER
BOOK

2ND EDITION WITH CD

A survival guide for
the first year and beyond

Melissa Kelly, MEd

Copyright 2010, 2004 by F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

An Everything Series Book.
Everything and everything.com are registered trademarks of F+W Media, Inc.

Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN 10: 1-4405-0038-X
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-0038-1
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-0039-8

Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.

THE EVERYTHING NEW TEACHER BOOK 2ND EDITION

Dear Reader,

You are about to embark on a grand adventure: teaching. Sometimes teaching can be an awesome experience, other times it can be extremely challenging. However, in the end it is worth it when you look at your students and see them learning, participating, and growing. I have written this book directly from my and my husbands classroom experiences, as well as those of many other teachers with whom I have worked. I hope you will find that these pages hold lessons they didnt teach you in the college of education. The information here is from the trenches. It is not based on theories of education, but rather on experience. I do hope that you enjoy this book and, more importantly, that you find true happiness and fulfillment in your profession as a teacher. You have chosen a truly amazing career. As George Bernard Shaw said, To me the sole hope of human salvation lies in teaching.

Welcome to the EVERYTHING Series!

These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project, gain a new hobby, comprehend a fascinating topic, prepare for an exam, or even brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten.

You can choose to read an Everything book from cover to cover or just pick out the information you want from our four useful boxes: e-questions, e-facts, e-alerts, and e-ssentials.

We give you everything you need to know on the subject, but throw in a lot of fun stuff along the way, too.

We now have more than 400 Everything books in print, spanning such wide-ranging categories as weddings, pregnancy, cooking, music instruction, foreign language, crafts, pets, New Age, and so much more. When youre done reading them all, you can finally say you know Everything!

Answers to common questions

Important snippets of information

Urgent warnings

Quick handy tips

PUBLISHER Karen Cooper
DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula Munier
MANAGING EDITOR, EVERYTHING SERIES Lisa Laing
COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert
ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Lisa Laing
SENIOR DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Brett Palana-Shanahan
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hillary Thompson
EVERYTHING SERIES COVER DESIGNER Erin Alexander
LAYOUT DESIGNERS Colleen Cunningham, Elisabeth Lariviere, Ashley Vierra, Denise Wallace

Visit the entire Everything series at www.everything.com

To my true joys in life: Marty, Ty, and Jessalyn.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Many thanks go to the staff at Florida Virtual School, especially Julie Young and Pam Birtolo. I would also like to thank Mike Daecher from About.com, Rita Kienle, Lynn Roll, Mickey Colen, Loretta Schultz, Tom Fleming, Tim Newman, Laurie Peterson, Jennifer Smith, Lana Howe, Pat Naylor, the Ericksons, and Tammy Rabon. Without each of your special gifts, I would not have had the role models necessary to write this book. Finally, very special thanks go to my agent, Barb Doyen, for starting me out on this path, to my entire family, especially my parents who were and are my greatest teachers, to my awesome husband Marty without whom this book would not have been written, to my beautiful and amazing children Ty and Jessalyn for love and laughter through it all, and most importantly to Jesus Christ, my Lord and savior.

Top Ten Things Every New Teacher Should Know

1. Always have high (but not impossible) expectations for yourself and your students.

2. Effective classroom management starts on the first day.

3. Humor can help diffuse a tense classroom situation.

4. Consistency and fairness go hand in hand and should be practiced every day.

5. Be flexible, but dont become a doormat.

6. Smile at your students.

7. Avoid confrontations in front of other students.

8. Be friendly, but avoid becoming friends with your students.

9. Get to know the people around you, and choose your friends and battles wisely.

10. Never advertise your inexperience.

Introduction

TEACHING HAS A LONG and noble history. From the ancients, like Plato and Aristotle, to the educators of today, teachers have made a huge impact on the world around them. Almost everyone remembers one or more teachers fondly, and some people credit a particular teacher with their success in life. Teachers are hugely influential, many times in a positive way but sometimes in a negative way, too. Teachers can inspire their students to greatness or they can inadvertently give inaccurate information that will stick with their students for a lifetime.

Being a teacher is a special calling. It takes a kind yet firm heart. It also takes a person who basically believes in the goodness of all people. A cynical teacher can cause a borderline student to lose faith and give up. On the other hand, a positive and perceptive teacher can help a student turn her life around and begin to meet her potential. Just having a positive attitude is not enough, though. A classroom teacher relies on many special skills.