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Back-to-School Advice for Teachers by Teachers
posted by: Melissa | August 07, 2018, 07:45 PM   

Sharing professional advice and commentary via social media can sometimes be a tricky area for educators. On one hand, connecting with other teachers is necessary for professional growth. On the other hand, it’s easy for a group of teachers to fall into “teacher lounge syndrome” and begin to gripe instead of grow.


A recent thread on Reddit definitely falls into the former category. In it, the educators all shared their best advice for going back to school this year. You can check out some of the advice that we liked below:


“Building positive and appropriate relationships with the kids is the fastest way to success. Once kids understand you care for them and about them, they are much less likely to disrupt, are more forgiving, and are more engaged.” – u/ukraine1


“Just be yourself while asserting classroom boundaries. Kids can sniff out disingenuousness really well and I think that can really determine if they like you or not.” – u/Pandonia42


“Keep rules simple and don’t have too many of them, and have somebody else vet them! The wording you use may make sense to you, but it needs to make sense to others.” – u/CommanderMayDay


“If a kid is behaving in an unexpected way, stop and try to figure out WHY. There's always a why behind a behavior.” – u/Humpdaytreats2


“I think imposter syndrome is really common among new HS teachers, but no one talks about it for fear of sounding unqualified. It helps to realize you don't need to know everything about the study of, say, English literature; you need to know a good bit about your content.” – u/adoaboutnothing


“When your peers compliment your methods or style, take that to heart. It's easy to fall into the habit of undermining your own achievements ("Oh, that successful lesson was a fluke," "Oh, I did A-B-C well, but I didn't think about D-E-F like a real teacher would"). If a fellow teacher gives you positive feedback, let it sink in. And, as a corollary, if you admire something a fellow teacher does, let them know!” – u/Dethwhale


“Honestly I think it makes kids respect you more when you're honest about not knowing something, a simple "that's a great question" or "let me look into that for you and we'll come back to it later" goes a long way” – u/velocipotamus


“Share resources, lessons, materials, ideas, etc. with your colleagues. They’ll often share with you as well.” – u/Brolee


“Have a complete change of clothes stuffed in a drawer somewhere in your class. You may never need it, but you will be glad you have it if you ever do need it.” – u/juantinntwo


“Practice self-kindness. When something goes wrong, forgive yourself. You'll bounce back faster.” – u/berrieh


“You don’t have to grade every assignment. Sometimes you have to just get your 12 for the quarter (or whatever your district requires) and move on. Don’t let the grading become your teaching.” – u/t_hedz


“Take care of yourself physically and mentally before your work...Being exhausted and stressed doesn’t help you or the kids.” – u/luvs2meow


“Worker smarter, not harder. I’m not going to reinvent lessons that work. Also, pick your battles. There’s always going to be the one kid that talks ALL THE TIME, no matter what you do. Ignore it when it’s not an issue.” – u/OhioMegi


What’s your advice for this upcoming school year?

Share below!


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