3 Years In: Truths About Teaching

I am in the midst of completing my third full year of teaching. Each year has been completely different. Year one was about surviving, year two was about creating and innovating, and year three has been about trying to improve myself as a professional and make what I have created even better. As I take time to reflect on this year and education as a whole, I feel I have come to some truths about this profession. Feel free to weigh in and discuss.

1. If you don't have a true love for kids, you aren't going to make it in teaching very long. You need to be patient, kind, and understand them. Instead of saying "this generation is lost in technology," we need to meet them where they are. Unfortunately the clock doesn't go backwards, only forwards. Love them for who they are and be where they are. When kids know you care, they are more likely to want to learn from you. We must embrace technology and "teach" them how to use it responsibly.

2. State testing is destroying the creativity and innovation of our teachers and students. To be honest with you, if my field of expertise was in a testing subject, I might not be teaching K-12. I feel those who teach tested subjects. They feel "handcuffed" in their teaching practices because of the stress state testing causes on their evaluations. Instead of doing engaging and creative lessons, they are stuck doing test prep all year. Where is the "joy" in that? The kids know it as well and can't stand it. Quit preaching that we as teachers differentiate our instruction when you standardize test our students. The solution: Instead of standardize testing students to pass an exam, why not give them "choices" on how they demonstrate their learning. There are "eight" multiple intelligences Howard Gardner stated we as humans possess. Some of us have and can utilize more than others and all can be taught/developed. Standardizes testing only allows students to show two of them. To be continued in another post...

3. You have to bring it everyday and choose to have a positive attitude. Unlike some jobs, you can't hide behind a desk if you aren't feeling well. You have to be ON 24/7. You are an artist, entertainer, counselor, motivator, and disciplinarian all in one. There is nothing that can prepare you for that unless you do it. Also, each year you will develop thicker skin and learn what works best for you and your students. My first year, I was awful at disciplining students and having those hard conversations. After year three, I feel I have seen and dealt with many interesting situations. Wisdom can only be gained by experience.

4. Most teachers that I talk to LOVE teaching. Teaching is the easy part. What many don't realize is all the "extra" stuff they have to do along with grading, making phone calls, lesson planning, etc. The number one thing that teachers whom I have talked with beats them up is all the other things that need to be done. SLO's, testing meetings, eight hour long evaluations, committees, etc. We do it because we love our jobs but it takes away in many cases from us being better teachers for our students.

5. If you want to become a better teacher, you need to push yourself to do so every year. After three years in, I can see how it can become easy to get "stagnant" and do the same things every year. Many "scoff" at teachers who get summers off. Teachers NEED off in the summer for a few reasons. One, at the end of each year, our "energy" and "creative juice" are at a low. The battery needs to recharge to deliver 180 days of enthusiasm, encouragement, and guidance. Two, we need time to brainstorm how to we can make those lessons better for next year. The great ones use that time to push themselves to be better than they were last year. Lastly, the students need a break as well from everything that is thrown at them. When they come back in August, they are excited and you as a teacher are pumped to get fresh faces and brains.

6. Overall, this is one of the most rewarding professions in the world. We as teachers do this job not to become millionaires. We do it because we want to change lives and empower our students to become better people. It can be easy to get "caught-up" in all the other things at school, but it is important to remember that we as teachers are the molders of the future. We are the ones who can change the world with one spark lit under a kid for an eternity of time. Congratulations to all the teachers who made it through another year. Rest up this summer; get back those creative juices, because your students need you to be better than you were this year!

-RD

15 Lessons I Learned From My First Year of Teaching

The 2012-2013 school year sparked my first year as a professional teacher and I must say it was a fantastic journey from start to finish. I learned a lot, met a ton of great people, and grew as a person. Below are some of the most important lessons I learned this year. Feel free to comment and add any that you think are important things teachers should know or do. Thanks.

1. Be different: You are unique because you are you! Everyone has different personalities, teaching styles, and strengths. Understand and use them in your classroom. Don't be scared to not be normal. I had a student tell me at the end of the year that I was one of his favorite teachers because I was weird. Intrigued I asked the student, "how do you mean?" He said, "I mean that you are always happy, positive, care about us and always seem excited to be here. I am not used to that."
2. If lecture and notes are your only teaching strategy, please change it up: It has been said that the average students attention span is that of their age. If you are lecturing for over 20 minutes, you have already lost your students. I have found that when I break a 45 minute lesson up into three parts, the students are much more focused and ready to learn. Also, lecture and note taking only reaches one type of learner; analytical according to researcher Dr. Robert Sternberg. It fails to reach the learners who learn best from practical and creative application. 
3. Network like crazy: I was very fortunate to attend a technology conference in Hershey this year where I met a ton of great teachers who actually ended up helping me through parts of this year with ideas and content. Also, if you are not on Twitter, every night of the week there are several education Twitter chats that take place where educators from around the globe gather to discuss emerging trends, current issues, and share fantastic ideas. Through networking and building my personal brand, I met a ton of outstanding people that I know I can count on when I need help or have a question.
   
4. Strive to meet the needs of all learners: In education, if we are not striving to meet the needs of all learners, we are failing them. Twenty or so years ago it was acceptable for teachers to teach one way and expect all student's to get it. We now know that every child learns differently. Differentiating based on student learning profiles, interests, and readiness needs to be a more common practice amongst all teachers. Yes it takes time to differentiate, but by differentiating you are hopefully helping learners maximize their potential.
5. Don't take it personal: One of my strengths yet sometimes a weakness is I care a lot about my students. I want to see them do their best and reach their full potential. Every once in a while you will run into an "immovable force" that no matter what you do, you can't get him or her to give a darn about your class or school. As educators, we have to remember that more times than not, it is not us, rather something we can't control. Continue to give choices, don't give up on the student, and don't take it personal.
6. Set high expectations: I think back to my student teaching experience with Carolyn Cusick at Upper St. Clair High School in Pittsburgh. That woman demanded a lot of me as a student teacher and she had set really high goals and expectations for her students. I learned that students will only reach the level you set for them. Push students to do their best, challenge them, and make them solve real world problems. They may at times moan and groan but if you did it right, they will thank you later.
7. Be a master at time management: As a teacher, you have a lot on your plate. Between lesson planning, creating assignments, grading, managing student and parent relationships, and taking care of other minor things, you need to be a master at managing time. Time is precious, don't waste it. The better you are a managing your time, the more time you have to enjoy your students, co-workers, and personal life. Everyday make a list of several things you must get done and set times where you can work on them.
8. Understand where the kids are: Students today, especially in middle and high school live in a digital world. They text, Tweet, Facebook, Instigram, Snapchat, Vine, play video games, etc. If we are making students do worksheets with pencil and paper all day, everyday, they will hate school because that is not where they live. Like it or not, we compete for their time and attention. If we are not incorporating technology into the curriculum, students will have a major disconnect with school. There are so many great sites, software, and apps to use in class. Use them within the context of your lessons. Your students will appreciate it!
   
9. Reflect and grow constantly: As a first year teacher, I don't feel like I had a lot of time to reflect on anything because I was so busy worrying and planning for the next thing. Next year, I plan to keep a digital journal using Evernote. The great thing about reflection is it allows us to grow. I also learned that sometimes the only way to really learn how to deal with certain situations is to go through them. Every experience you have makes you smarter and wiser.  
10. Build rapport and give positive phone calls: When I first got hired, my boss asked me to call  all 120 students parents/guardians with a positive phone. I set a goal to call all of them by Christmas. It did two things for me. One, it gave me a better rapport with my students and it built a positive reputation amongst parents. I was lucky not to have one negative parent interaction all year.
11. Attitude is a powerful thing: One thing I expect my students to have when they enter my classroom is a positive attitude. Attitude is power and I try to display a positive one everyday for my students. On my mid-year surveys, I asked the students what are two things you like about this class. Over half said they enjoyed my positive attitude and energy. Students thrive of energy and they remember those who entertained not bored to death.
12. Be an innovator and make yourself valuable: One of the many great things about education is you constantly get to be an innovator and help others. This year I started the TCOT (Teacher Collaboration On Technology) Committee. Each month I would host a meet-up where teachers would come in and we would share things that we were doing with technology. It was a great way learn from each other and discuss ideas on how to increase student performance anduse of technology in the classroom. Secondly, volunteer for events and get involved. Students love to see your faces at anything they do outside of the classroom.
13. Don't be scared to ask for help: I was very lucky my first year to have a great mentor in Brad Reist who helped me all of my "rookie" questions. Not only him, but many of the other staff were great in helping me get the answers I needed. Never be scared to ask for help because help is always available.
    
14. Take time for yourself: Again, there is not a lot of "free time" your first year of teaching. You are constantly doing school work and planning. As much as we want the best for our students and want to be great, you have to remember that it is a job and you and your family need attention. Make sure you take a day off to get away from school and re-charge the battery. It helps a ton with your attitude and energy levels.
15. Until they know how much you care, they don't care what you know: If you are in education, it is a good probability that you love working with kids. Make sure your students know how much you care about them and really get to know them as people. It makes it much easier to teach and they care a lot more about your class.