Tips on being a great high school teacher?
June 28th, 2009 Posted by: admin
Hi,
I’m aspiring to become a high school teacher, and I was wondering if you have any tips or suggestions to give me about being a great teacher. I’ve wanted to become a teacher since I was six years old and I am very excited about getting into the field, but I must also admit that i’m pretty nervous about it too. You see, i’m a softie at heart - and I know that this probably will not fare well for me in a high school classroom. Can you give me any tips on how to maintain control in a classroom? Any other advice on being a good and effective teacher would also be greatly appreciated. Both students and experienced teachers are welcome to comment. Could you please indicate which category you fall into so that I could understand which perspective I am getting from you? Thank you all so much for helping!
By: l_girl76
I’m aspiring to become a high school teacher, and I was wondering if you have any tips or suggestions to give me about being a great teacher. I’ve wanted to become a teacher since I was six years old and I am very excited about getting into the field, but I must also admit that i’m pretty nervous about it too. You see, i’m a softie at heart - and I know that this probably will not fare well for me in a high school classroom. Can you give me any tips on how to maintain control in a classroom? Any other advice on being a good and effective teacher would also be greatly appreciated. Both students and experienced teachers are welcome to comment. Could you please indicate which category you fall into so that I could understand which perspective I am getting from you? Thank you all so much for helping!
By: l_girl76
Tags: Advice, Control, High School Teacher
June 28th, 2009 at 17:29
Don’t try to be their buddy. Always be prepared and have back up plans if something goes wrong. And for some reason, kids love gory stories.
I have taught K-college.
June 29th, 2009 at 18:39
Remember… you are not their friend, you are their teacher. Big problem with beginning teachers is they try to be a good friend to their students in order to feel accepted. When I started I was 22 and my kids were 16 - 18, shoot, they had brothers and sisters older than me. But my mentor quickly got my mind right. You dress the part and and act the part… all the time.
Make you classroom expectations clear, don’t give warnings, students behave in a manner that disrupts the educational process deal with them directly and remediate the problem. Treat all students the same no matter what, you must be consistant and fair.
Always strive to improve, be dynamic in your delivery of lectures and demonstrations, capture them with the adventure of learning.
If you have administrators who are idiots learn to accept it, that’s why they are administrators, they were no good in the classroom.
Don’t expect much support from parents, most of them se you as their baby sitter and would prefer that school was year-round.
Get your Masters Degree, it is pretty much the standard now.
Remember too, your not a teacher because you get paid real well, the pay stinks. Parents trust teachers to educate their children and they trust the police to protect them, but for some reason the pay for both is very low compared to other professions.
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:02
I think the secret is to maintain a sense of confidence and leadership in the classroom. I don’t think the answer is to rely on doing “discipline” at every moment, because then your classroom will turn into a very anxious and unhappy place. You’ll get to a point in your teaching career that you will have internalized all of the sense of “stance”, that is, your ability to control your students without having it feel like control. They will follow your lead. I’ve been teaching for four years now, and I find that kindness goes a long way, both toward angry teenagers and colleagues alike. I’d also say to avoid the negativity that you’ll experience. My grandmother, who taught for 40 years since the 1940’s through the 1980’s, had it right; stay out of the teacher’s lounge!
If you have a disruptive student, deal with that student on a one-on-one basis and don’t be afraid to write a referral here and there. You’ll find, paradoxically, that the students you write up in the beginning end up being your best students by the end. What they want is a place that has limits. They’ll test you, but they really want you to “pass.” In our area, I work with the “toughest kids”… that is, the poor, gang and crime-ridden school. Some aspects of a teaching environment is totally unpredictable. The secret is being flexible and knowing yourself. You can do it.
As far as administrators go, I’ve found that ours are incredibly committed to seeing our kids succeed. Our principal was once an outstanding teacher of ELD.
And, as a last note, no one goes into teaching for the money.
July 3rd, 2009 at 08:58
Set up attainable and reasonable rules, and enforce them consistently. Be aware of what’s going on, all the time. Teach from both sides of the classroom, not just the front. Circulate among the students when they are doing seat work. Make sure that the students understand the relationship between what is being taught and the rest of their lives, etc., etc., etc.
Know your subject. Never wing it. When you don’t know the answer, say, “I don’t know, let’s find out.”
Get a book, “The First Days of Teaching,” by Harry Wong.
July 4th, 2009 at 08:31
Hi,
Exceptionally different and noble. That is how I personally describe the profession itself. Teaching requires a lot of hardwork and results to a lot of fulfillment at the same time. It seeks a bulk of patience and gains a lot of open mindedness. Pursuing this career is not that easy if one does not have the passion to do the job. Loving what you are doing will result to a more positive personality and a productive working environment. Its ‘wanting what you get’ and not ‘getting what you want’ that counts anyway. I remember someone said “if you want to succeed in any line, you have to be master of that line”. The desire for success is not always the same as desire for happiness in life. No one should push you against the path that you think you will enjoy for the rest of your life.You will kep on bouncing back to where you want yourself to be.
Set a goal for yourself. If you think you are for teaching, you must have the courage to take responsibilities ahead. Teaching does not end in books or learning inside the four cornered rooms alone. You are in charge of the learner’s future. It lies on your hand.
Its not hard if you persevere. Nothing else in this world is easy than doing nothing itself. Go for it and start your journey, theres a lot of exciting things ahead of you!
Good luck and God bless!